To Dance with the Devil
by Wolf Blossom
Summary: If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part.
1. To Make a Deal with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Make a Deal with the Devil_

With trembling hands, Akira Higurashi read the telegram that was sent directly to his office in the Archeology Department at Tokyo University. He was almost positive that his heart stopped beating momentarily; his eyes scanned over the letter once more, rereading what he had already memorized.

'Higurashi Akira

As per our agreement, you have searched to discover the skeletal remains of what you believed to be a mermaid, but failed. Outlined in our guidelines section 2.4 a, it is clearly indicated that should you not uncover what you are searching for, you will return the funds loaned to you within a period of four weeks. It is now the fifth week and we have yet to hear from you. Please contact my advisor immediately so that we may rectify this situation. His business card is attached.

Signed,

Takahashi Inuyasha'

Akira looked at the business card:

 _Miroku Lin, Senior Advisor, Half Demon Enterprises_.

He knew that if he didn't make the phone call, Takahashi Inuyasha would do more than just send him a telegram. Akira knew better than to test the patience of Takahashi Inuyasha, listed one of the top five CEO's in the world, and Asia's deadliest gangster.

 _.xx._

"Point your toes!" Twenty-three year old jazz teacher, Higurashi Kagome, observed her class of twelve five-year-olds practising their toe pointing and stretching. She co-owned a studio with her best friend, Sango Yue, and loved every minute of being a jazz teacher. Her very pregnant best friend was unable to teach due to the fact that she was the size of a (small) hippopotamus but Kagome didn't mind. Sure, she put in a few more hours in the day but working with children was her lifelong dream and dancing was her passion.

It was the best of both worlds.

"My toe huwts!" One of the girls whined and Kagome smiled sweetly.

"Sweetie, with practice you'll be pointing your toes in your sleep. I know it hurts now, but I promise it'll get better." With a small pat on the head, Kagome continued to count for her students. "And four, three, two, and release!"

The girls exhaled loudly as they lowered their feet and slouched. Kagome couldn't help but laugh; she loved the girls more than anything. She had been teaching the same group of twelve students for the past six months and had quickly grown very fond of them. Just as Kagome was about to tell the students what to do next, the front receptionist (an old friend of Sango's), knocked on the studio door.

"Kagome?"

The raven-haired teacher glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, Yura?"

"Your father called just now. Said it was an emergency and for you to call back. Do you want me to watch the girls?"

Kagome nodded. "That'd be great. Just get them to repeat the toe pointer exercise till I get back?"

Yura smiled and tucked a stray lock of her unnatural blond hair behind her ear. "Gotchya, teach."

The two ladies giggled before Kagome took her leave and Yura began to cover the class for the few moments Kagome hoped she'd be. She walked through the tiny hallways of their homely studio, smiling at trophies and pictures. She _loved_ her job more than anything. Apart from teaching, she was in a college designated for the arts and was further pursuing her dancing— it was something she did for as far back as she could remember. Her mother was a wonderful dancer and Kagome had the full intention of following in her footsteps.

Sitting in Yura's cushiony armchair at the reception desk, Kagome picked up the office phone and quickly punched in her father's cell phone number. It rang four times before redirecting her to voice mail, so Kagome opted to call his office at the university. Maybe her dad was in a lecture?

"Kagome?"

Okay, maybe not.

"Daddy," she said with a smile on her face. "Yura said you called?"

"I did," Akira gulped and Kagome's smile immediately disappeared and was replaced by a frown. Why did her father sound so frantic? "Do you think you can come home a bit early today? I need to speak to you and Souta. It's urgent."

 _Urgent?_ Kagome's heart began pounding. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Just... please come home early. Okay?" Without waiting for her to respond, Akira hung up the phone. Kagome listened to the beeping that indicated that the line had been cut before putting the receiver down. Her mind was array; what could possibly be wrong with her father?

 _.xx._

After making a few phone calls, Kagome was able to arrange one of the part-time teachers to relieve her for the rest of the afternoon. Kagome promised lunch and over time, but the part-timer simply laughed it off and saying that it was unnecessary. Friends help friends. Unlocking her bike from the stand, Kagome sped off towards her old family home. It was the same house she grew up in, from the day she was born till date. It was the house that her mother and father had bought prior to her mother's unfortunate passing. Her father had reassured Kagome and her brother, Souta, that he would not sell the house, no matter what.

Cutting the corner skillfully, Kagome continued to pump her legs in an attempt to urge herself to go faster. She noticed a large shiny black limousine slowly drive down the street and frowned; _what's a limo doing here?_

No matter.

Somebody probably was getting married or something.

Home was where _Kagome_ had to go, she didn't need to worry about roaming limousines on the streets of Tokyo, Japan, her hometown. Kagome was approaching another turn and knew that she was going too fast to make it, so she expertly held her arm out, latching onto the light-post, swerved herself around, and continued in the direction that she needed to go.

Hey, she wasn't an ex-cheer captain, dancer, and sports star for nothing. Kagome was athletic and agile, and nobody could argue against that.

 _.xx._

Kagome opened the door and already felt the tense atmosphere. From where she entered, she saw her brother in the kitchen pouring a mug of coffee or tea. She assumed her father was in the living room, figuring out a way to tell them what he needed to tell them. It was so sudden; his phone call. That morning he left for work happy and his usual carefree self, but not even five hours later, he called both his son and daughter home to tell them something 'urgent.'

"I'm home." She called out. Souta looked over his shoulder and nodded at his sister. He mouthed to her: _He's scared of something_.

Kagome nodded back, indicating that she had an idea of how their father was feeling. Akira made no sound notifying that he heard his daughter enter their home. Souta left the kitchen with a tray of three steaming mugs; hot chocolate for Kagome, coffee for their father, and tea for himself. Kagome greeted her brother halfway down the corridor, took the tray from him and continued to follow him to the living room.

"Where's Sango?" Kagome asked. Sango opted to live with Kagome and her family for the duration of her pregnancy; the father decided not to stick around and the Higurashis quickly stepped in to help Sango with anything she needed.

"Sleeping," Souta responded. "Who'd you call to cover the studio?"

"Souten."

Souta nodded, he liked Souten as a teacher. She was the most disciplined, in his opinion. Wordlessly Kagome put the mug of coffee in front of their father on the coffee table and sat down beside Souta on the love seat. Akira was on the single seat, and their fat cat, Buyo, was sprawled out on their three seat. They sat in silence for a good three minutes before Akira exhaled loudly and sipped his coffee.

"I have... I've hidden something from you kids."

Souta, just a mere two years younger than Kagome, sat up straighter. "Hidden something?" The siblings exchanged nervous glances. Their father never, _ever_ hid anything from them. It was an unspoken agreement in their family; no matter what happened, they always told each other the truth.

Akira was silent and Kagome leaned forward. "What happened? Is everything okay? Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm okay. Um... well..." Akira put his mug down and rubbed his face. How was he ever going to tell his children? His two beautiful, loving children? Oh, Korari would be so upset if she were alive.

She was probably turning in her grave.

"You see, to fund the archeological dig in the Atlantic Ocean, I had to take a loan." Akira watched his children's expressions. So far it was unchanging. They were both confused and unsure of which direction his story was taking. Akira was more worried about Souta's reaction than Kagome's. His son was always the more emotional one.

"The terms of the loan were that if I found the remains of the mermaids I'm searching, the loaner would receive a cut of the profits for five years, excluding profit earned on holidays. If the remains weren't found after a certain period of time of getting the loan, the loan would have to be repaid in full."

Souta frowned. "How much was the loan?"

"Nine million yen."

"WHAT?!" Kagome screeched, standing up. "Nine **million**?! Why that much?"

"Equipment. Staff. Housing fees. The university wasn't going to fund past a certain amount and the loaner had a minimum amount to be loaned." Akira was dreading what Souta and Kagome would say after they found out just whom the loaner was.

Or what the loaner wanted in the stead of the repayment.

"Okay, so you got a loan of nine million yen and you can't pay the guy back, right?" Souta raised his eyebrow. "So what happens now?"

Akira looked down. He didn't want to see his kids' reactions when he revealed the next bit of information. "I took the loan from Takahashi Inuyasha... and now he wants the most important thing to me in replacement of the yen."

Silence.

Cold, dead silence.

Akira decided to look at his children. They were both gaping, a look of shock evident in their eyes. Souta's eyes were searching his father's and Kagome just stared blankly in front of her. Akira knew that they were thinking: Takahashi Inuyasha, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world and the most dangerous gangster on the Asian subcontinent. _What was I thinking?_

"So what is it?" Souta finally croaked out. He had a sinking feeling; he knew what Takahashi Inuyasha wanted. Subconsciously, Souta reached over and took a hold of his sister's hand. "What does he want?"

Akira's eyes rested on his daughter and silent tears began streaming down Kagome's face. They all knew what exactly Takahashi Inuyasha wanted instead of the cash. He wanted Kagome— the apple of Akira's eye.

"How does he know you have a daughter?" Souta lashed out, his voice rising. He stood up, his body radiating pure lethality. "How does he know about _us_?"

"He does his research," Akira said quietly. "He knows about all of us, about Sango, the studio, your mother..."

"What if we refuse? How could he put a price on my sister's head?" Souta snarled. Kagome remained silent the whole time. She was still trying to understand what just happened, what her father just said.

Akira's shoulders slumped, if possible, further down. "He knows that nothing means more to me than the two of you. It's either I find nine million yen by tonight or..." His voice cracked. "Kagome."

"But what if we refuse?" Kagome finally whispered. Akira found it impossible to look at her.

"Death."

Souta took a step forward. "Whose?!"

"All of ours."

Silence once again.

The Higurashis knew what decision had to be taken— their lives depended on it.

"So he wants to _buy _ me?" Kagome squeaked. Akira coughed and shook his head.

"No... He didn't say anything about buying. This is his assistant's card," Akira placed Miroku's card on the coffee table. "He said to call him after we've talked about everything."

"WHAT IS THERE TO TALK ABOUT?!" Souta finally exploded. Akira braced himself to feel his son's wrath and Kagome slinked out of the room, not before taking Miroku's card.

 _.xx._

Kagome sat in her room in complete shock. She didn't know her father was involved in such things and now, because of his carelessness, her entire family's lives rested on her shoulders. Takahashi Inuyasha wanted _her_... but for what? Akira said that Takahashi didn't say anything about buying but who knew?! What could the most dangerous gangster want with a dance teacher?

She knew she had to call him. Eventually. It was either then, or never.

 _Sooner rather than later, Kagome. Isn't that what Mama always taught you?_ Faintly, she could hear her brother still yelling. Sango was lucky that she was a deep sleeper; her best friend could sleep through an Armageddon.

Mustering up the courage within her, Kagome dialled Miroku Lin's direct number. She didn't want to; she wanted to wait, think about it, talk to her friends but she knew who and _what_ she was dealing with. And she knew that he didn't want to be kept waiting. After dialling the last digit, Kagome pressed her phone against her ear and waiting to meet her doom.

That was what happened when one danced with the devil.

They always lost.

 _.xx._

 **I was thinking about totally quitting fanfiction but really? I couldn't. I just needed some time to get used to being married (amazing so far, by the way), and getting used to how different my life is now. But I am here, not going anywhere! This story was ORIGINALLY a Card Captor Sakura story but I tweaked it to make it an Inuyasha fanfiction…**

 **I started watching Anime again and I am getting in to a new Netflix original series called Seven Deadly Sins… anybody familiar with it? I might look in to fanfiction for that series as well…**

 **Anyway, here I am! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. To Meet with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Meet with the Devil_

"Kouga," the elite gangster drawled over a cup of coffee, "must I constantly remind you that Princess Genevieve of Sweden is not interested and that she is betrothed, to be wed, in less than a week?" Blazing ochre eyes studied the man sitting before him; Kouga Lang was the second deadliest man on earth but the world's biggest hopeless romantic. All he ever did – when he wasn't following through with orders – was daydream about the perfect wife, a couple of kids and a little Husky puppy to complete his imaginary family.

Sitting beside Kouga was Lin Miroku, the left hand man of Takahashi Inuyasha, the aforementioned elite gangster. Kouga secured himself the position of _right_ hand man; what the difference was, he didn't know... All Kouga was positive of was that he was in the good graces of Takahashi, and that was all that mattered.

It was said to be impossible to get on his good graces, and despite being utterly grateful, Kouga was still Kouga, and he was not about to start kissing ass. Kouga knew his value in Takahashi Inuyasha's ring of sins, and he knew very well that he would not be disposed of that quickly.

"She was a prude anyway." Kouga murmured as he sipped his tea; he wasn't really a coffee drinker. He pushed his unnaturally black hair out of his stark cold blue eyes and stared lazily at his boss. "I want me a kinky wife. You know; somebody that can Kama my sutra."

Miroku snickered. "Kama your sutra? That's a new one, Kouga."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Kouga leaned back in his chair and tipped his head forward. "You have yourself a bird with legs for days, Miroku; your girlfriend's a dime so I know you're not complaining." Kouga winked at his partner. "Especially at night." Miroku almost choked on his coffee but Kouga wasn't fazed. He continued his tirade. "And _you_ , boss... You're just an attractive, albeit deadly, fellow. You don't have to even try."

"Shut up, Kouga." Inuyasha said in a low voice. As he sipped his coffee, Inuyasha subconsciously reached up to rub the scar on his face; it started mid left cheek and stretched over to his left earlobe. The unlucky bastard who did that was quick to endure death by his hands.

Bare hands.

"You'll get yourself the kinky wife you want. Just... Don't try to look for her." Miroku advised. Kouga looked at him as if he was out of his mind.

"How do you fucking expect me to find her then, idiot?"

Inuyasha was beginning to get a headache. If Miroku wasn't smart and Kouga wasn't an elite assassin, and if neither of them were his wingmen, Inuyasha would've shot the both for being annoying. Alas, that feat wasn't possible so the gangster had to endure his wingmen's bickering.

A divine entity above answered Inuyasha's prayer; Miroku's cell phone rang. It stopped the wingmen's fighting instantly. Kouga resumed drinking his tea and examining his fingernails and Miroku pulled his phone out of his blazer's inner pocket. He had a habit of always dressing business formal or business casual. Something about the girlfriend being turned on... Or whatnot.

"Lin." Miroku purred smoothly into the phone. Within a second, Miroku's expression turned into a look of amusement. "Ahh, Miss. Higurashi. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in positive interest; he had just that morning sent Akira Higurashi his telegram. His daughter was already calling? Inuyasha wasn't expecting any form of contact for at least a few days...

Not that he was complaining.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Jaw tight, Inuyasha took Miroku's outstretched phone. Kouga stood up and said he was going to go urinate and Miroku began coughing loudly. Ignoring his wingmen, as he always did, Inuyasha pressed the iPhone against his ear.

"Takahashi."

.xx.

Better now than later was Kagome's ideology behind making the phone call. She could hear her brother shout at the top of his lungs, from behind her closed door, the sound resonating from the general living room area (no doubt antagonizing their father) but she decided to pay him no heed. She had to make a life or death decision and that required her immediate concentration.

 _See what he wants_. She told herself. _Deal with the situation after you've spoken to the mastermind._ Kagome gulped. _Let's just pray that he doesn't want to turn me into his concubine... Or add me to his collection of girls in his secret underground harem._

She dialled the number on the card and waited for an answer. Not even before the second ring was complete, Lin picked up.

"Lin."

Kagome tried to keep the shaking out of her voice. "Hi... Umm... It's uhh... Kagome?" Dammit, why'd it have to sound like a question? "Higurashi Kagome."

"Ahh, Miss. Higurashi. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was told to speak to you... Or Takahashi about the erm... Situation? Are you guys being serious? Am I actually the collateral for my father not paying Takahashi back?" She knew she shouldn't have said the last bit but her heart took control and she shouldn't help it. She blurted everything out and was probably going to suffer the consequences.

 _You and your big mouth_. Kagome thought bitterly.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Kagome paled. "He's there?"

Her question was answered when a liquid velvet voice greeted her. "Takahashi." If it were possible to have a full orgasm just by a voice, Kagome would believe it. This supposed notorious, dangerous, deadlier-than-thou gangster had an incredibly sexy voice.

 _But you're not here to admire his voice. Confront him, Kagome!_ She wished she was as brave as she thought she was. After Takahashi greeted hear, Kagome became deadly silent.

"Miss. Higurashi, I kindly suggest you stop wasting my time and ask what you needed to." His obvious anger made his voice sexier.

Great. _Just what I needed, to be infatuated with the enemy's voice_. Kagome wanted to stick needles in her eyes. Inhaling deeply, she mustered up all the courage that she had and asked him what she needed to. "Are you... serious? About my father and... me?"

"Wouldn't you rather discuss this in person?" Inuyasha's voice remained neutral, as if he wasn't at all bothered by her addressing his demands in regards to her father.

"In person?" Kagome echoed. "As in you and I meet up?"

"Typically that's what 'in person' entails, Miss. Higurashi." Inuyasha sounded amused. She was definitely a character.

"Umm okay... I guess that makes sense." Kagome was breaking into a sweat. She didn't want to _meet_ the guy! "When and where?"

"Tomorrow, three PM. I'll have Kouga pick you up at that light post you swung around today."

As expected, Kagome was silent. How did he – _the limo!_

"That was you?" Her voice was hardly audible.

"Somebody had to drop your father home after the horrible telegram he received today." Oh, he was trying to taunt her now. "I made sure that my men got him home safe. You're quite the biker, Miss. Higurashi."

"I will see you tomorrow." She said tightly and he had the audacity to _chuckle_! Never mind it had to be the single most beautiful sound Kagome ever heard, the fact of the matter was that he was laughing at her.

"See you then." With a click, the line died.

Kagome fell back onto her bed. Great, she bought herself less than twenty-four hours before she met, and probably danced, with the devil. Now to mentally prepare herself; Kagome had no intention of telling her father or brother about this meeting. Her father put her into this mess, she would fix it herself.

 _I need a bubble bath and a glass of wine._ Kagome stepped out of her room in time to hear Souta roar:

"BUT TO PAWN OFF KAGOME?!"

.xx.

Kagome didn't go to work the following day and her brother understood. He gave her the day off, with pay, to get her thoughts together—despite the studio being her and Sango's brainchild, Souta did the accounting and payroll and, despite being two years younger, Kagome typically asked her brother for permission before taking the day off. She knew it would mess with his accounting and with him being a newly graduated accountant-in-training; he took his trade very seriously. Kagome still hadn't told Souta that she was meeting up with Takahashi Inuyasha later in the afternoon.

She wasn't planning on saying anything until after she spoke to him.

Akira left for work earlier than usual that morning and Souta and Sango were still asleep. She made breakfast for her brother and best friend before leaving to take a walk; mostly to gather her thoughts. What was she going to do? Going to say? What should she expect? Kagome was nervous... She was meeting up with a deadly gangster to settle her father's debts.

Shit like that only happened in movies.

Or storybooks.

 _I hope I don't end up dying_. Kagome thought, feebly. Locking the door behind her, Kagome began her slow walk to absolutely nowhere. Her mind was abuzz with the various scenarios that could take place that afternoon and Kagome was bracing herself for the worst.

Kagome, subconsciously, approached the light post that Takahashi decided would be their meeting point. Why did her father take such an extravagant loan from _Takahashi Inuyasha_ of all people? Kagome heaved a heavy sigh; she knew that only her father could answer such a question. But Akira wasn't in the state to answer _anything_.

Kagome's head was ducked while she walked; she was oblivious to her surroundings and, as a result, she collided with a solid, rock-hard, muscular chest. Stumbling backwards, Kagome was sure that she was going to fall onto the ground but an equally solid, rock-hard, muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into the aforementioned perfect chest.

"You should be more careful, Miss. Higurashi." Kagome felt the chest rumble as a familiar, perfect voice reverberated. Gasping, Kagome pulled back and looked up at the face of her saviour. _Shit_ , Kagome thought desperately, knowing exactly who it was. _He looks as sexy as he sounds._

"Sor – sorry." Kagome stuttered. "How did you know who –"

Inuyasha cut her off. "I have my ways." Instead of reacting to what he said, Kagome could only gawk at his unnatural waist-length silver hair; it was twisted in to a perfect braid. And his jaw! Never had Kagome bear witness to such a perfect jaw… with a remarkably perfect scar…

 _Stop admiring him, Kagome! He's the bad guy, remember?_

"Do you have a destination?" He asked, his voice oozing with undeniable sex. Kagome took a step back and shook her head.

"Aimlessly walking. And thinking."

"How about we aimlessly walk together?"

Kagome tried not to break into a nervous sweat. She wasn't mentally prepared to face him right _then..._ Hell, she wasn't even prepared to face him at three! "I don't want to impose on anything you'd be doing, Mr. Takahashi."

"Nothing like that," his lips twitched and he smirked, ever so slightly. "I'll call one of my men to send the limo. Are you in the mood for seafood or Italian?"

Oh _great_. He was taking her out to eat while they had their talk... This was so not going to end well.

"Any fast food joint is fine, really."

"Don't be modest, Miss. Higurashi. We are going to spend quite some time together in the future; may as well get used to my lifestyle now." Kagome's blood ran cold. Her concubine theory seemed more and more plausible. Her life was over!

Taking a deep breath Kagome said Italian was fine. Inuyasha pulled out his phone and called Miroku. "Send Kouga with the limo." Without waiting for a response, Inuyasha hung up. He slipped the phone into his inner blazer pocket – it was then that Kagome noticed that the man before her was donned in business formal attire. He looked sharp in his black suit and red dress shirt. Kagome also noted that his tie lay limp around his neck.

And for some reason, that added to the sex appeal.

"While we wait for Kouga, tell me about yourself."

Kagome looked at him as if he were crazy. _H_ _e is asking me to tell him about myself?_ The urge to retort in a snarky fashion was strong, but Kagome bit her tongue. She had no idea how this… this… _person_ would respond to sarcasm. Kagome was hesitant given the fact he was who he was; _Takahashi._ Responding with _'you probably already know everything about me'_ could, potentially, prove to be extremely fatal.

"Are you concocting an elaborate story to impress me, Miss. Higurashi?" Kagome was unaware of when Inuyasha gripped her upper arm and began tugging her towards a bench not too far off.

Kagome broke out of her reverie and her eyes locked with Inuyasha's laughing ochre orbs. She had to give him credit for his incredible physique, _but_! She was not allowed to feel physically attracted to the single most dangerous person in the world who would, soon, ruin the lives of three innocent individuals. "Not really, Mr. Takahashi."

"Please," he drawled his voice sinfully sweet. "Inuyasha is fine. And if you're worried about speaking your mind, do not worry… I won't do you any harm."

 _Yet._ Kagome finished his sentence in her mind. Her heart was racing— _what do I do?!_ _Trust him, or be cautious? Ugh, don't be stupid, Kagome. Be cautious._

"Kagome... may I call you Kagome?" Inuyasha sat down on the bench and pat the empty space beside him. Kagome joined him, albeit reluctantly, however she kept a safe distance from him. _Relax_. Kagome forced her shoulders to relax and sat up straight.

"You may…" _Not like I could tell you_ not _to call me Kagome. Honestly, he is quite dull…_

Who was she kidding? He wasn't dull at all… au contraire, he was probably incredibly intelligent. Inuyasha was merely being very polite and Kagome couldn't help feel slightly guilty for not responding to his questions. But could he blame her? Kagome exhaled loudly and rested her chin in the palm of her hand that was propped on to the table. "Honestly? I'm very afraid of you."

Inuyasha chuckled and the sound exuded pure _masculine_. Kagome bit her lower lip and ducked her eyes; _that was embarrassing…_

"Just speak your mind, Kagome. There is no point in being afraid; I did tell you that we will be spending _a lot_ of time together…"

 _Concubine theory._

"And, because I know how to read expressions _very_ well, you will not be my concubine."

Kagome was taken back and could only gawk at Inuyasha. He grinned, showing his canine fangs— _is he a mind reader?_ Alas, Kagome decided not to hide that last thought and spoke what she was thinking. "Do you have mind-reading abilities, Mr. Takahashi?" Her concern caused Inuyasha to laugh, a bit louder that time. Kagome was coming to the conclusion that Inuyasha quite possibly had the best laugh she had ever heard.

"I said to call me Inuyasha." He took a moment to study her before crossing his arms. "And, to answer your question, I am not. You, however, are very expressive with your face. You seemed to be getting more and more scared as we sit here… I am not going to dismember you; I am quite nice. And I take sarcasm very well." At his last point, he winked at Kagome. She wasn't even going to _ask_ how he knew she was thinking that— "I had Miroku do background checks on all of the Higurashi's before loaning your father the yen." Well, that answered her question. "The checks are intensive so I am very well aware you are fluent in five languages: Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and Sarcasm."

At that Kagome couldn't help but laugh. So big bad elite gangster had a sense of humour? That was unexpected.

"Then let us restart?" Inuyasha was glad that Kagome was finally beginning to relax. He could only imagine her reaction and response to him when he revealed the condition on which he loaned her father the money. "Tell me about _you_?"

With no inhibitions, Kagome blurted out the first answer she thought of when Inuyasha initially asked her about herself: "What's there to say? You must know _everything_ given the intensive research you've done."

Without missing a beat Inuyasha laughed. She was feisty, as he predicted, and he liked that. It would, however, make his condition that much more difficult to present. Oh well, Inuyasha never backed down from a challenge…

"Touché, Kagome."

Somehow, what he said gave Kagome a little more confidence than she had previously.

 _Maybe this won't be_ as _bad?_

Boy, was she ever wrong.

 _.xx._


	3. To Dine with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Dine with the Devil_

The limousine ride was painstakingly quiet; Kagome sat on the opposite end of the backseat and had her eyes glued out of the window. Inuyasha, with utter amusement, sat in the middle of the backseat and maintained a conversation with the driver (Kagome learned his name was Ginta), and another man (Kagome learned he was Kouga). As predicted their conversation consisted mainly of who they killed, which mission was ongoing, something about Inuyasha's business, and a 2.479% increase in their gross annual sales.

Everything prior to the increase in gross sales went to deaf ears for Kagome. Her attention zoned in on how much profit that asshole made. I'm _pretty sure 2.479% is equivalent to 9 million yen... so maybe I can persuade him to forgive my father and we can all resume life as it was before daddy's lapse of sanity._ The thought, despite being her own, Kagome knew was farfetched. The kingpin could quadruple his sales and _still_ claim that Kagome's father is required to pay back his loan… there was no winning with people like Inuyasha and Kagome knew, deep in her heart, that resisting and fighting was simply futile.

"Penny for your thoughts, Kagome?"

Kagome blinked a few times and turned to gaze only to find that his ochre eyes were glued on her.

Studying her.

It sent a surreal shiver to course up her spine.

"I doubt a penny would be of any use to you, Mr. Takaha—"

"Inuyasha." He cut her off rather curtly. "Must I keep asking you?"

Kagome drew a sharp breath and hesitated for a moment before completing her statement: "Inuyasha."

His name felt foreign to her lips. Inuyasha smirked and slouched a bit further in to the leather cushiony seats of his limousine. "It wouldn't," _Well, that was very humble of him. Not._ "But I still want to know what you're thinking."

"I thought you were a mind reader."

Her swift and witty responses kept him on his toes and Inuyasha found it very refreshing. Very rarely did he find a woman that would intellectually keep him stimulated. More often than not, women in his life kept him stimulated in _other_ ways, but it had been a long while since that happened as well. The proposition that he was going to present to Kagome over lunch began to excite him; he loved clever retorts and witty banter. Too often was Inuyasha thrown in to the role of businessman, criminal, and gangster all in one. Conversing with Kagome reeled him out of the world he had grown so familiar with, and threw him in to a world he wanted to familiarize himself with.

"I am. When I choose to be." He added the latter as an afterthought and flashed Kagome a smirk. The girl sitting before him bit her lower lip and turned to look out the window once again.

It took Inuyasha a lot of willpower to not laugh at her expense.

"So… about what was on your mind?" He pressed when he realized she wasn't answering. As if the heavens parted and a ray of sunlight beamed directly on to Kagome, Kouga announced that they arrived at their destination giving Inuyasha the distraction that Kagome desperately needed. Without waiting for the driver to, politely, hold her door open for her, Kagome cranked open the limousine door and scrambled out of it. The close proximity with Inuyasha was making her feel lightheaded. He exuded an aura of confidence and pure masculinity, yet personified fear and death at the same time.

It was a deadly combination and Kagome was seriously beginning to question her father's mental state for entering in to a deal with, who Kagome was going to refer to as, the Devil.

Kagome pushed the limo door shut and, slowly, approached Inuyasha to get a better view of the restaurant he took her to.

 _Basil_

Kagome raised an eyebrow. _This restaurant is named after an herb…?_ If Inuyasha was an old friend, colleague, or family member Kagome would've bombarded him with a plethora of sarcastic quips of the unusualness of the restaurant name. Alas, he was none of the above and had the potential of dismembering, maiming and or killing her and Kagome wasn't fond of any of those options.

She liked being alive.

"Shall we?" Inuyasha extended his arm to Kagome.

Kouga was leaned against the limousine Ginta, watching the interaction unfold. Ginta leaned towards Kouga and whispered: "Does he normally have such manners?"

Kouga shrugged. "Beats me. I've never really seen him talk to women before. Up until last year I used to see them leave his room but that stopped too."

Making a face, Ginta turned back to Inuyasha and Kagome to see her, hesitantly, loop her arm through his. Inuyasha began escorting her into _Basil_ and, what happened after, was left a mystery to Kouga and Ginta.

"Wanna drop by the shooting range?" Ginta offered and Kouga grinned.

"Do I? Let's go! Maybe Miroku wants to join too…"

 _.xx._

The fact that Inuyasha requested his usual private table gave Kagome the impression that he came to _Basil_ on the regular.

 _Probably with his concubines._

"I switched my mindreading ability back on and, to answer your question, my nephew Shippo loves this place. We have a weekly tradition on Sundays to come here, just the two of us. An old family friend owns a chain of these restaurants."

Kagome could do nothing but gawk at Inuyasha. _Does he_ really _have mindreading abilities?! I am so confused…_

The deep rumbled that sounded from him caused Kagome's hairs to stand on end. "You must learn to control your expressions, Kagome. You're an open book… in case you weren't aware."

 _I'm aware now. Thanks._

The walk from the front desk to their private table took a whole thirty seconds. Inuyasha held Kagome's chair out for her and she, daintily, took her seat. Inuyasha took his seat and loosened his tie a little bit; Kagome hadn't even realized he wore a tie. If he were _anybody_ else she would've gawked at how goddamned beautiful he was: perfectly imperfect silver hair, a masculine face accented by a strong jawline and unnatural ochre eyes, and a faint scar that outlined his left jaw, trailing from his cheek to just behind his earlobe. But because he was an asshole that was out to ruin her life, even if he was Adonis claiming that her presence in his life would complete him, she would still think he was uglier than a dry toad.

"Would you rather pleasantries, or to get down to business?"

That was odd, coming from Inuyasha, Kagome thought. She figured he would take the wheel and give her a speech of what her father did wrong and now she had to atone for her sins et cetera, et cetera. He probably _wanted_ her to say 'business' so she threw him a curveball.

"Pleasantries."

The way he raised his eyebrow rose made Kagome feel that she chose the right option.

"Very well. You're a jazz teacher?"

"Yes." _Stay curt. One word answers._

"But you wanted to go in to the field of feudal archaeology, no?"

His question sparked something within her and in a split second her eyes were aflame with rage. "If you've done such intensive research, _Mr. Takahashi_ , then why bother with asking me questions. You already know the answer."

Feisty.

Inuyasha liked that in a woman.

"I did do research, Kagome, but that only gives me materialistic and factual information. The intricacy of your _personal_ feelings and _personal_ rationales are at a loss for me. I might know _what_ you did, but I have no idea _why_ you did it."

Kagome threw caution to the wind. He was playing mind games with her and she was tired of his shit. "Why should I tell you _why_ I did something? That gives you more of an edge on me and, to be frank Mr. Takahashi—" Second time she referred him by his last name. _She's mad at me._ "I don't want you to know more about me than you already do."

"Fair enough. Maybe you'd like to ask me a question?"

Kagome seemed to consider his option. She sipped on the water the waiter provided for them upon them getting seated and considered the many questions she could ask him. Should she stay within the pleasantries track or veer away and tread on business territories?

The options…

"What type of business do you deal with?"

Kagome opted to stay safe and stick to pleasantries. _I don't think I'm ready to hear his conditions as of yet…_

Inuyasha relaxed his shoulders and cracked his neck – the crunching sound made Kagome cringe. "All sorts of things. Legal or illegal?"

"Legal, please." Kagome didn't like lawbreakers, law-breaking, ex-lawbreakers… anything to do with the law and breaking it. It was poetic justice, however, that she was dining with the devil that broke the law (presumptively) on a regular basis.

"I cofound a pharmaceutics company with my brother. I don't run it, though… he does. I deal with international trade, I'm the founder of Shikon—do you know?"

Kagome's eyes widened. Shikon was a prestigious clothing store with overpriced but amazing quality work. Some critiques justified the prices of Shikon saying that materials were obtained using fair trade methods and a percentage of all sales went back to the industries of where the goods were obtained from, such as hunters for fur and skin.

Deep inside, despite not believing in such ridiculously priced merchandise, Kagome really wanted _something_ from Shikon just to say she owned a Shikon original…

"Kagome?"

For the nth time, Inuyasha broke Kagome out of her reverie. "Uhh—yes, sorry. I know about Shikon. Didn't know you founded it though… it seems too… _legal_ to be associated with you."

He flashed a grin. "That's the point; nobody knows I own it. I use an alias."

"Oh?"

"Tetsu Saiga."

Kagome eyes widened. "You're… Tetsu…?"

"In the flesh."

Before Kagome could respond, the waiter approached them asking if they were ready or if they wanted a few more minutes. Inuyasha was prepared to order (as he was extremely familiar with the menu). Kagome, though, hadn't looked at the menu once and quickly scanned over it while Inuyasha was placing his order.

 _Pasta?... maybe. Spaghetti and meatballs is always a safe bet. But so is lasagna… oh the options!_

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked up at the waiter and then glanced at Inuyasha.

"Are you ready?"

 _No_. But she ordered anyway. "Spaghetti and meatballs please, but instead of tomato sauce can I substitute for pesto?"

The waiter nodded. "Of course. Anything else I can get?"

"Not at the moment. We'll call if we need anything, Shiro." Inuyasha quickly glanced at the nametag when he tacked on the waiter's name. Bowing, the waiter took his leave and Inuyasha returned his attention to Kagome. His stark silver hair was perfect for the duration of time Kagome spent with him; _I can't even keep a ponytail on nicely and he manages to keep his braid perfect. And I'm a_ girl _._

"Back to our conversation."

Kagome nodded. "Of course; you're Tetsu?"

"That I am. If anybody knew that Inuyasha Takahashi was the founder of Shikon, they would've doubted its honest credibility."

" _Is_ there a reason to doubt?"

She wasn't afraid of him.

"Of course not. It is the only honest project I've ever done. In honour of my mother." The tone of his voice indicated that he did not want to speak on the topic any longer and Kagome wasn't stupid enough to press the matter.

She sipped her water again. "Apart from Shikon, what else do you do?"

"Again, legal or illegal?"

"Both." Kagome kind of wanted to hear what he did…

"I maintain peace and justice in the world with my money, status, and power."

"Kind of like Sailor Moon?"

Inuyasha looked genuinely horrified. "Excuse me? I would prefer to be compared to Batman. Sailor Moon had no money, status, _or_ power." He was shocked and appalled that she had the gall to compare him to a whiny and bratty dumpling head! Moreover, the lead male character in the Anime had no balls and practically depended on aforementioned whiny brat to save _his_ hide. Inuyasha had a disgusting aftertaste in his mouth after Kagome's fucked up comparison.

"She did, she was the Princess of the Moon—how would _you_ know what she had?!" Kagome's eyes widened slightly. "Have you watched?"

"I have a sister-in-law." He replied coolly. "There have been a few… instances where I've accidentally had the misfortune to catch the tail-end of certain episodes."

"So you've watched it."

Inuyasha, though he wouldn't admit it, felt defeated. She caught him—"Alright. Yes. I have watched it; but who hasn't? Their skirts left nothing to the imagination…"

Kagome felt victory. She won against the big, bad, elite gangster. It was something for the books.

"After that, I do believe I have no more questions."

"Excellent. On to business?"

She gulped. _No_.

"Yes, on to business."

"Good." Inuyasha leaned back in his chair, studied her for a long ten seconds before dropping the bomb.

"Marry me."

 _.xx._

 **What are your thoughts so far?**


	4. To Deny the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Deny the Devil_

If Kagome had food in her mouth she would've choked.

If she had water in her mouth it would've been all over Inuyasha's perfectly cut and tailored suit.

Her jaw became slack and her eyes widened to a size she would've deemed inhumane. Did she hear him correctly? He wanted her to _marry_ him…?! As in _marry_?! The thing that people normally did when they were in love and were ready to commit the rest of eternity to each other; that thing?

"I'm sorry… I don't think I heard you correctly…" Kagome's voice was squeaker than she hoped for it to sound. "You want me to… _marry_ you?"

Inuyasha couldn't say he didn't anticipate her reaction, because he did. She was a sensible and calculating woman who hated surprises—at least that was what Miroku's extensive research told him. As he already revealed to Kagome, he knew the facts, the _whats_ and the _wheres_ , but he didn't know the _whys_. Why did she do what she do? Why did she pick left instead of right, or yes instead of no…

Why was Kagome, _Kagome_?

"Yes." His answer was curt and straightforward. "Marry me."

In exactly five seconds Kagome stood up and sent her chair flying backwards. "Absolutely _not_!"

Inuyasha was _not_ expecting _that_ reaction. His eyes widened just slightly but otherwise, he made no other reaction. "No?" He was anticipating her to question his motives, to press further and ask for more details. Inuyasha was not expecting an outright negative answer. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end; he wasn't one for surprises and it took all of his will power to not reach for his concealed gun. It was a force of habit to shoot the brains out of anybody that opposed him. Kagome, however, was not in a rival gang and she had no ill intention; she simply was a woman that was caught off guard and her reaction was reasonable.

Inuyasha was impressed that he was able to remain rational. He wasn't known to give anybody the benefit of the doubt.

"No. Who do you think you are?" Kagome snarled. "You may think, breathe, and live _business_ but I, _Mister Takahashi_ ," she enunciated his name and popped the _T_ s, "am not a business transaction. I _will_ find a way to give you back the loan my father took. By the end of this week you will have a cheque mailed do you for the loan amount _plus_ standard bank interest."

Inuyasha's interest was piqued. "Is that so?"

"That is so." Kagome went to grab her purse to take her leave but Inuyasha stood up and blocked her from leaving.

"And if you can't?"

"I can."

" _If_ you can't." Inuyasha repeated his question but with a sterner tone. Kagome's eyes locked with his and all she could feel for the man was complete and utter hatred.

"I don't entertain situations that will not happen, Mr. Takahashi. You will receive your loan amount plus interest by the end of this week or my name _isn't_ Higurashi Kagome."

"It's a deal then." Inuyasha took a step back. "By the end of this week if I do not receive the loan amount _plus_ standard bank interest, your name will _become_ Takahashi Kagome." He extended his hand.

Kagome glared coldly at him and shoved past him, not bothering to shake his hand. Inuyasha simply stared at where she was standing and withdrew his outstretched arm—if her role in his plan wasn't as important as it was, he would've made sure she regretted speaking to him like that. Insolence deserved punishment, but Inuyasha wasn't going to pass judgement. Her reaction was justified but her attitude was uncalled for. He sat back down in his chair and pulled out his phone.

He was going to do something that he _never_ thought he would ever do…

Inuyasha was going to ask Miroku for some advice on women.

 _This one is for the history books…_

 _.xx._

Sango whistled low while holding on to her protruding belly. They were sitting in Kagome's office at the dance studio with the door securely locked; they were in no mood for interruptions.

"He took you out to dinner, proposed to you because being bound to you in holy matrimony is equivalent to the nine million yen he loaned to your father; you walked out on him and… haven't heard from him since?" Kagome was chewing her lower lip while Sango spoke. In a nutshell, that was _exactly_ what happened.

"Pretty much."

"I'm surprised he didn't shoot your brains out."

"Right?!" Kagome slumped, exasperated. "It took all the testosterone that my female body could produce," Sango wanted to point out what Kagome said made no sense, "to look him in the eye and tell him to _fuck off,_ figuratively of course…" Kagome slouched in her seat; it was bad for her posture but who gave a flying fuck. "I think he might be plotting my untimely demise as we speak."

Sango shifted slightly; being pregnant was both fulfilling and uncomfortable at the same time. "Or, maybe, he's giving you the week you requested to get him the nine million yen. Possibility?"

Kagome nodded. "Possibility…"

"Any idea of how you're going to get that sum of money?"

Kagome felt as defeated as she looked. The weight of the situation was burdening down on her shoulders and, though not directly her burden to bear, it became a situation that she needed to take control of. Inuyasha wanted something for Akira not paying back such a large loan and, for some ungodly reason, that _something_ was Kagome. Her life was worth nine million yen and to pay him back, she had to marry him.

But she wasn't going to let that happen.

"We'll sell the house."

"… say that again?" Sango shifted uncomfortably. "Sell the house? And where are we going to live if we sell the house?!"

"At Jii-chan's shrine." Kagome mulled. "I was thinking about this the whole drive here. Our family house can go for ten to fifteen million yen; which would be just enough to pay the standard bank interest clause I decided to tack on to my proposition. Why did I end up doing that… ugh." Kagome groaned, pulling her hair.

Sango couldn't believe her ears and decided not to agree with Kagome's latter realization. Kagome was contemplating _selling_ their family home! The same home Kagome and Souta grew up in… the same home Sango would bicycle to, after classes, to have homemade ice cream courtesy of Kagome's mother…

The same house Sango cried endlessly when she found out she was pregnant and that the father of the baby wanted nothing to do with her and left…

"Did you talk to your father about this?"

Kagome got up off the chair and cracked her neck. It was a sound that made Sango cringe.

"What's there to talk about? He didn't consult with Souta or me when taking this loan so I don't have to, either. I'll call Souta, find a real estate agent and put the house up for sale tonight… in the meanwhile I have to call Jii-chan and have him prepare our old bedrooms…" The thought was making Kagome sulk but she had no other option.

Well, she _did_ , but her other option wasn't really an option either.

Marry him? _As if._

 _.xx._

It amused Inuyasha to no ends when he learned that Kagome had her house up for sale before the end of the day. He had to give it to her; she promised him his money back plus interest and she was delivering. Miroku had told him earlier, on the telephone, that Inuyasha had to woo Kagome; he had to be sweet yet aggressive; modest yet assertive.

 _Basically, be a pansy ass bitch._ Inuyasha scoffed. He was neither sweet nor modest. He was aggressive, assertive, and domineering. Whatever Inuyasha wanted, he got. He didn't _want_ Kagome, he _needed_ her. Though he would never admit _that_ to her; his prerogative was on a need-to-know basis and Kagome did not need to know anything. The only information she was going to privilege to was that Inuyasha had to marry _her_ , and nobody else.

"There's already an offer." Kouga drawled as he reclined in Inuyasha's armchair. The three men – Inuyasha wouldn't consider them friends, but they, for the sake of technicality they, _were_ friends – were lazing around his home for a much needed break. "They put in 8.5 million."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "She won't take it."

"She won't take anything less than 15." Miroku indicated. "She is looking to pay off your loan _plus_ interest and have money left over."

"For that she's gonna need 20." Kouga snorted.

"Yes, but her primary concern is to pay off Inuyasha. Money left over is a luxury she can afford not to have."

Kouga sat up on his armchair and raised an eyebrow in Inuyasha's direction. "If she manages to pay off the loan, plus interest, why do you still need her? Isn't the purpose of this deal to have the loan paid off? She's delivering where Akira couldn't."

Inuyasha's eyes flickered in Kouga's direction before returning to news article he was scrolling through on his phone. "I still need her."

"Naraku?" Miroku offered and Inuyasha stiffened. Their boss's reaction confirmed their suspicion. Inuyasha didn't parade around taking wives because he was a sick, twisted individual. No, Inuyasha was doing it because he would be in a dire situation if he did not. What stupefied Miroku and Kouga was _why Kagome_? Even before Inuyasha loaned Akira Higurashi the money, he had made passing comments on one day taking Kagome Higurashi as his wife but never did he disclose the reason why. Miroku and Kouga weren't stupid, they knew it had something to do with Naraku, a man that Inuyasha has had a feud with for as long as either of the two wing men could remember, but they didn't know _why_.

 _Why Kagome?_

 _.xx._

Akira Higurashi was forbidden to have an opinion. He couldn't suggest the price for the property, suggest who to hire as their real estate agent… he wasn't even allowed to sign the contract between Souta, Kagome and their agent, despite the property being under Akira's name. Kagome managed to find a workaround so that Akira would not be involved in the slightest throughout the transaction.

The house was on the market for two days before an offer was extended for 18.5 million. Kagome and Souta didn't have to deliberate. They accepted the offer right away on the condition that the final closing be within five days. That would bring Kagome to the seventh day and she would be able to cut Inuyasha a cheque and move on with her life.

Miraculously, the buyers agreed on her condition and before the end of the week Kagome had her money.

Souta was stacking packed boxes while Kagome lay upside down over the side of the couch. "We're actually moving." She yawned. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"I wish Mama was around to clonk Dad upside the head." Souta grunted while moving heavy boxes. "You call the Devil yet?"

"No. I don't want to."

"You kind of have no choice."

"He's a stalker. I'm sure he knows we sold for 18.5." Kagome used a thick permanent marker to scribble _KITCHEN_ on one of the boxes. "I'm sure he knows we're moving to the shrine—when is the truck coming? We have to be out of here before 9pm."

Souta ignored his sister's question and went back to the topic of informing Inuyasha Takahashi that the Higurashi family would be able to repay their ridiculously large loan. Plus interest.

"You still need to call him." Souta grabbed a role of masking tape to perform operation on a breaking box. "He might find this as an excuse to force you to marry him. You know? What if he dings you because you didn't let him know before 4 p.m. because that's when the stock-market business day ends and he was expecting a response that was in line with the business hours?" Souta sounded crazy, but he did make sense. It sounded like something Inuyasha would do… "Cover all your bases, sis."

Kagome sighed. She hated when Souta was right…

"Fine. I'll be in my room."

"Thank you. Can you send Dad down? I need help taking all this out to the car. Hojo should be here with the truck any time now."

It was a quarter to three in the afternoon and their deadline of having the house empty by 9 p.m. was quickly drawing near. Sango volunteered to start unpacking their stuff at the shrine with Jii-chan's help and Kagome, Souta, and Akira would finish boxing up their stuff, clean the house, and move the rest of everything over as soon as possible.

Kagome waved her hand at her brother in acknowledgement and began slowly dragging her feet up the stairs. She had the case of endless-hallway syndrome; the staircase never seemed to end no matter how many steps she took. "Daddy!" She called "Souta needs you." She finally made it to the top of the stairs and before her father could answer, she shut the door to her room.

Her mattress was the only thing left. It was scheduled to be taken downstairs by Hojo, their friendly neighbor, and Souta as soon as Hojo arrived with the truck. Kagome plopped unceremoniously onto the mattress and blinked back tears; she grew up in this house… it was where her mother had brought Kagome and Souta home from the hospital after they were born. There was laughter, tears, arguments—everything in their family home. Every corner Kagome looked at reminded her of some argument or another, a lost baby tooth, Souta's first heartbreak.

Hell, _her_ own first heartbreak.

All of that was gone.

Because of her father's insatiable desire to find a mermaid. A mermaid that probably didn't even _exist_ and because of his irrational need he ruined everything she and Souta believed in. At least they still had their dance studio.

 _Takahashi would probably find a way to take that away from me as well._ Turning on to her back, Kagome pulled her phone out of her back pocket and scrolled through her call history to find Miroku's number.

"Miss. Higurashi." Kagome recognized Miroku's voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Is Mister Takahashi available?"

"He most certainly is. Just give me one moment."

Kagome _hmm_ 'd and waited. She heard some shuffling and, within a matter of seconds, Inuyasha greeted her.

"Kagome," his voice was a low husky drawl. "Long time no talk."

She hated pleasantries.

"Your money is ready." She didn't bother engaging in small talk with him. He didn't seem like the type to appreciate it anyway. "Shall I mail it to you or would you rather pick it up." Kagome, tactfully, did not offer to deliver it to him. She wanted nothing more to do with this terrible situation. The sooner it was finished, the better for her.

Inuyasha, however, was not going to let it go her way. "You can deliver it. Over dinner. Tomorrow." His sentences were short and sharp. "After your final lesson at the studio I will pick you up. Be sure you're dressed for the occasion."

 _No. Way_. "My apologies, I have plans tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. And every day for the rest of my life so I think it's best if you send your cronies to pick up the cheque and leave us alone."

"Not happening. Tomorrow, after your final lesson, I will personally pick you up. Keep an eye open for a black Bugatti." The bastard was throwing his wealth in her face _while_ they were negotiating when and how to deliver him a cheque for nine million yen. _What a bastard. His stupid wealth is probably illegal anyway; my money is possibly the only honest money he's ever going to see._ "Again, dress for the occasion."

"WHAT OCCASION?!" Kagome all but screamed in to the phone. He was testing her patience. His laughter didn't help.

"Black. Fancy."

Kagome made a sound that sounded like a strangled banshee. "Takahashi, my shit are in boxes because I'm moving. Moving because I had to sell my family home to pay you back. I have work tomorrow and have to go back home, my _new_ home, to _un_ pack—can you save whatever twisted shit you have planned for somebody else? I'm not looking to die by your hands anytime soon."

Inuyasha chuckled. She had spunk, and knew how lethal he could be. It was… _cute_. "It's humorous that you believe I will kill you yet speak to me with such a brazen attitude."

Well, Kagome's mother _had_ told her that her attitude would get her killed one day but she was no docile lamb. "Fine. Let me reiterate in a less _brazen_ way: I am in no mood for games, I have a lot of stuff to do and unfortunately I cannot entertain whatever it is you have planned."

"That's still brazen. Simply not as brazen as your prior statement."

"My apologies. I really can't help my brazen attitude. You are entitled to have an opinion on my attitude and if you think it's brazen, I can't do much about that." Kagome was mentally and physically exhausted and bantering with Inuyasha was the very last thing she wanted to do. Heck, if he was the last person left on earth and she had nobody else she could converse with, she'd rather converse with a rock.

A pebble even.

Perhaps even a grain of sand.

But not Inuyasha.

"Dinner it is then?"

"You aren't going to stop until you get what you want, are you?" Kagome sighed, defeated.

"Not at all. Bring the cheque with you too." And he hung up.

Kagome snarled and threw her phone to the side. _What else does he want from me?!_

.xx.


	5. To Toy with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Toy with the Devil_

Before Kagome finished her lesson for the evening Yura had advised her that a black Bugatti was parked outside the studio. Yura was well aware of the situation; she was as close as family got for them and Yura was there for Kagome and Souta through all stages of starting up their studio. Kagome merely nodded at Yura before returning her attention back to her students.

"Class, I want you to keep practicing the first thirty-two counts of our song. Dismissed."

The children scattered to gather their things so that they could meet with their awaiting parents in the waiting room. Kagome, on the other hand, took her _sweet_ time. After all, she had to _change_ in to a "black dress. _"_

 _If he thinks for a second I'm going to doll myself up for his petty ass, he has another thing coming._ Kagome lounged in to the change room and began her work of magic…

 _.xx._

Inuyasha was leaning against the body of his car with his arms crossed. A light wind picked up but it hardly bothered Inuyasha; he was there with a purpose and what Inuyasha Takahashi wanted, he got. Whether the delivering party liked it or not. As if on cue, Kagome emerged from her studio wearing a long black faux-fur jacket. Odd, it wasn't _that_ cold out… perhaps she was simply shielding her outfit for a more appropriate time? The corner of Inuyasha's lip curled upwards. _Interesting. Very interesting._

"Kagome," He greeted her by opening his passenger door. Kagome neither greeted him nor acknowledged him.

Strangely enough, that made him amused. She had balls the size of coconuts that was for sure. He caught the scent of her perfume as she brushed past him to enter his car, _Hypnotic Poison by Dior_. Inuyasha thought amusedly. The only way he knew the fragrance was due to its distinct smell: hints of cinnamon, vanilla, and rustic smells. He had a soft spot for cinnamon, and it was amusing that Kagome picked Dior out of all other perfumes available.

With his hands folded behind his head, Inuyasha languidly walked to the driver side and entered his vehicle. Kagome made no motion to speak to him or look at him. She was scrolling through her phone, checking her Facebook and doing everything in her power to not pay any attention to the elite gangster sitting beside her.

 _This jacket is so hot._ She thought annoyingly. The shit she did to piss off a dangerous underworld king—if she made it out alive, it would be something she added to her bucket list just so she could cross it out, being able to tell people she pissed off Inuyasha Takahashi and made it out alive.

"Are you hungry?" He asked while fastening his seatbelt.

"No."

"Good, you're going to need an appetite for where we're going."

"I said no."

"And you also just said more than two words to me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. _Don't give in to him. Don't give in to him._

"I presume you have your cheque?"

"Yes."

"With interest?"

"Yes."

"And how much money is left over for your personal expenses?"

"Enough."

Inuyasha bit his lip. He didn't want to laugh at her expense, but she was being funny without even knowing it. It awed Inuyasha that she knew what he was capable of, knew his line of work, knew he probably had a concealed weapon plus bodyguards tailing them, and yet she was bold enough to display such unorthodox behaviour. It also awed Inuyasha that her attitude didn't annoy him, but rather intrigued him.

She would make an excellent wife, and would be able to stand her ground in his world, that was a fact he could be certain of.

"How much is enough?"

"Just enough— _oh hey_! Kikyo got engaged!" Kagome couldn't help but squeal when she saw a post of her cousin, who was only three months older, with her long-time boyfriend Onigumo and her ring. "And she didn't even tell me."

"Who is—"

"Can you excuse me for a minute? I need to call my cousin." Without waiting for Inuyasha to respond, Kagome dialled Kikyo's number and pressed the phone against her ear.

Inuyasha's knuckles tightened on his steering wheel. There was a limit, and Kagome was drawing scarily close to his.

"Hello—hi, so what just happened?"

Inuyasha heard a woman babble on the other side of the line.

"When?! Five minutes ago? What the hell are you doing posting already on Facebook? You should be _celebrating_." Kagome's voice was suggestive and she knew Kikyo probably blushed a shade of tomato on the other end of the line.

Inuyasha's annoyance was spiking drastically. "Kagome—"

She held up a finger to shush him. "Huh? Oh don't worry about it, just some guy."

That was it.

"Hang up." His voice was a lethal purr. The authority that he commanded lashed out and filled the Bugatti. Kagome glanced at him and decided to acknowledge his request; she knew she was testing him and although it was part of her plan to annoy him, dying wasn't.

"You need to fill me in tonight. Let's convene at the studio—" Inuyasha heard the girl Kikyo interrupt and Kagome quickly intercepted her.

"It's one of Daddy's business partners, we're working out some deals regarding the expedition. Yeah—hmm—okay sounds good! We'll grab ramen and drinks. Love you." Kagome hung up and tossed her phone into her purse. She looked out the window and closed her eyes.

Inuyasha's eyes flickered to her and back onto the road again. "I know what game you're playing."

"There is no game."

He smirked. "Lying to me is futile, Kagome. I can sense betrayal a mile away."

"Betrayal is only a result of somebody breaking your trust. You do not know me enough to trust me, therefore I cannot betray you."

"I believe that is the most you've said to me since we met."

Kagome growled. "Can we just get this dinner done with? I want to give you my cheque and go home." No sooner did the words leave her mouth did Inuyasha pull in to the parking lot of a fancy 5-star restaurant, _Kazanna_. He wasn't lying, it did require proper attire and Kagome knew he was going to be incredibly pissed off when the maître d' didn't seat them because she looked like… what she did.

Inuyasha pushed his door open and Kagome quickly exited his car. _Am I taking this too far?_ A sliver of doubt filled her emotion before she squashed it like a fly. _No. He is trying to get me to marry him after lending Daddy money for a useless expedition. I am_ _ **not**_ _taking this too far_.

"Shall we?" He held his hand out to escort her but she brushed past him. Inuyasha clenched his fist but remained silent. Getting angry at her would solve nothing… Before Kagome could push the door open, Inuyasha strode past her and opened it for them. She mumbled a silent thank you and entered the restaurant.

"Ohayo, welcome to Kazanna, how may I—Oh! Lord Inuyasha!" The maître d' grinned seeing the man standing behind Kagome. "Your usual table, I presume?"

"Please, Jakotsu. And take the lady's jacket."

Kagome gulped. _Well then…_ wordlessly, she slipped her jacket off and Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Underneath her faux fur jacket she wore torn jean shorts, and a black t-shirt with profane writing on it. Inuyasha's eyes darkened considerably and he took a menacing step towards Kagome.

"What the hell do you think you're wearing?!"

"Clothes."

"I specifically told you to wear a black dress."

"And I specifically told you I didn't want to go out with you. Besides, this shirt _is_ black."

Jakotsu's head ping-ponged between the arguing duo and before it could get worse, he interjected. "Pardon me; there is no need to disagree. Your usual table is private, Lord Inuyasha, so we may grant an exception to allow the lady to dine with you." Jakotsu glanced at Kagome with slight disgust. "Although she must wear her jacket to and from your table."

"Thank you, Jakotsu." Inuyasha was trying to level his anger. Was the woman an idiot?! Arguing with him, ignoring him, and negotiating deals with him was one thing, but defying his request altogether was unacceptable. Inuyasha had never, in his life, had anybody defy him the way she was and it was frankly irritating.

 _I know what you're doing._ He thought while walking quietly behind her. _You're trying to weasel your way out of the marriage deal. Too bad I'm a lot harder to get rid of…_

 _.xx._

"You are a different species, Kagome."

Inuyasha was leaned back in his chair, looking as if he owned the place. Kagome was sitting in her seat with her jacket hanging off of the back of her chair, with her arms crossed. An envelope lay between them on the table; her cheque to pay back his loan.

"You can't tell me what to do."

"I could kill you for disobeying me like that."

"Then do it."

"Do you think death is better than being my wife?"

"Dying once is better than dying every day."

"As my wife, you'd be a Queen."

"I would rather be a pauper."

Inuyasha's anger was slowly disappearing—just as quick as she had riled his emotions, she was relaxing him with childish banter. It was nothing like Inuyasha had ever experienced and, as intriguing as it was, he was wondering if it was worth it. He wasn't one to experience emotional roller coasters; he was the one delivering such experiences.

"Besides," Kagome leaned forward and rested her chin on the palm of her left hand. "You have your cheque, I've paid you back. Marrying me is redundant now."

Inuyasha sipped on his red wine. "Perhaps. Or perhaps marrying you was my intention when I loaned your father a sum that I knew he couldn't return."

Kaogme's eyes widened drastically. _That_ option was not one she had entertained… "Pardon me?"

He chuckled. "My intentions are my own, Kagome. But do know that I always get what I want. And what I want, is you."

"You can't order me to marry you."

"I know," Inuyasha leaned forward and looked directly into her eyes. "What I want to know is _what_ I can do to get you to marry me."

"Nothing." Kagome was persistent. "I refuse to marry you."

Inuyasha leaned back. "That isn't an option."

"Explain to me why."

"Cannot."

Kagome wanted to strangle the idiot. There was no way he could waltz in to her life, make a mess of it, and expect her to marry him. "You force me to change everything in my life, sell the house I grew up in, pay you back for a loan you knew my father couldn't afford, and then marry you?"

"Yes."

" _Argh_!" Kagome screamed, slamming her hands on the table. " _Why_?!"

"I already told you, I can't say." Inuyasha's voice was silky smooth, and he wasn't allowing her anger to affect him in anyway. "You _will_ marry me."

"Is it a temporary fix for something?"

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "Temporary? Sweetheart, no. It's for life."

"You're going to marry me, a virtual stranger, and build a life with me? I'm calling you out on your bullshit."

"Call me out on whatever the hell you think this is, but marrying you is what I will do." He leaned forward and plucked the cheque off of the table. "But thank you for being considerate enough to pay me back my loan. Whatever possessed your father to think mermaids exist is beyond me."

Kagome's world began to spin. Inuyasha didn't believe in her father's expedition but loaned him the money anyway knowing full well her father couldn't pay it off. His ulterior motive was to marry her? But _why_? _Why, why, why? He isn't telling me and he isn't backing off…_

Kagome was stuck between a rock and a hard place and she needed to buy time to figure out what to do. She needed Sango, Yura, _and_ Kikyo… Their four brains collaborating would be much better than her trying to make a plan by herself.

"Hello?" Inuyasha raised both eyebrows. "Still awake?" He was watching Kagome enter a state of deep thought and, momentarily, space out.

"You aren't going to back out of wanting to marry me, are you?"

"Not at all, so it's best for both of us if you just agree and we get on with planning the ceremony."

Kagome scowled. "No. You can't strip me of experiencing the marriage process—if you're so keen on marrying me, where is the ring?"

Inuyasha was a loss of words. He certainly wasn't expecting her to ask him about a ring. What was going through her head? "I have it. Not here. Did not want to risk giving you a family heirloom and having you run away with it."

"I'm sure you'd prevent me from escaping."

"It touches my heart that you know me so well, Kagome."

She ignored him. "I will _entertain_ your idea to marry me on one condition." Kagome was negotiating with him again. She would make perfect Takahashi bride.

"And that is?"

"You court me. Woo me. You are not relieved of the daunting task of pursuing a woman just because you own half the country with stolen money." Kagome's eyes were hard. She refused to let him win. "You have to win _me_ first and have me _want_ to marry you."

"You think you're smart." The corners of his lips twitched. "You want me to win your affection? Do know, Kagome, that whether you _want_ to or not and whether I am successful or not in wooing you, you _will_ marry me."

"No. You claim you always get what you want, and if you want to marry me so badly you have to make _me_ want to marry _you_." He was right, she never would want to marry him but hopefully this would buy her enough time to think of a counterplan. "What do you say? Do you agree with my terms?"

Inuyasha studied her for a minute. Her resolve wasn't breaking and her eyes were aflame with anger. If only she knew his reason, perhaps she would consider his offer but, alas, he was unable to disclose any information to her. He needed to marry her, and she needed to be with him and that was that.

"On a condition of my own."

Kagome's back straightened. "Which is?"

"You will not purposefully reject anything I do during this courting process. If I want to take you out for dinner, you will come." He knew she'd say no just because she could.

"Unless I have premade plans."

He nodded. "Unless my plans with yours conflicts with prior engagements. Yes. And you cannot have relations with other men."

Kagome nearly choked. "Pardon me?"

"No other men."

Her eyes narrowed. "Fine. But no other women."

"Deal." He extended his hand to hers and she stared at it for a moment before extending hers out.

"Deal."

 _So begins the dance…_ _your move, Inuyasha_.

 _.xx._


	6. To Party with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Party with the Devil_

Kikyo spat her "jiggle juice" all over Yura. The four girls, Kagome, Yura, Sango, and Kikyo were lounging in the staff room of the dance studio discussing two very important topics: Kikyo's engagement, and Kagome's conundrum.

"Thanks, I've always liked _Eau du Kikyo's-regurgitated-vodka_." Yura muttered dryly, wiping Kikyo's spit and vodka (aka jiggle juice) off her face.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand, Yura," Kikyo snickered. "My regurgitated jiggle juice is not important right now… what _is_ important is Kagome dating Inuyasha Takahashi!" Kikyo leaned forward and wiggled her eyebrows at her cousin. "How does it feel? Does he shower you with diamonds and pretty clothes?"

Kagome threw a cushion at her cousin. "I am _not_ dating him _technically_ , and this _just_ happened. So no, I don't have diamonds and pretty clothes and I honestly doubt I will be getting any of that anyway!"

"You told him to court you. He _has_ to get diamonds and pretty clothes and courting _means_ dating!" Kikyo argued back, knowing full well how stupid her argument was.

"I needed an excuse to give me more time to figure out what to do." Kagome groaned, sipping on her own jiggle juice. Kikyo was kind enough to drop by the liquor store and pick up enough beverages to keep Kagome, herself, and Yura sated. Sango was designated driver since a) she was pregnant, so b) she really had no other option. In the middle of the four girls were four full containers of steaming hot ramen.

Kikyo fingered her diamond. "And he won't tell you why?"

"Not at all."

The sun was setting and most of the businesses in the strip mall the studio was located began shutting down for the day. It was Friday which meant Kagome had the weekend off since the part timers typically taught on Saturdays and Sundays. Yura had to come in to work the very next day to finish writing up a few policy changes for new students.

Kagome was definitely looking forward to the weekend… she needed to relax and get over all the crap she had to put up with all week—she wanted to meet _one_ other person whose father sold their daughter's life to the devil, sold their childhood home, paid back said devil, and then convince him to _date_ her in an effort to get him away from her. If Kagome didn't know any better, _there wasn't anybody!_

"Quick thinking on your part, though." Yura commended. "I would've just started crying, to be totally honest."

"I still don't know how I thought of it." Kagome whispered. "I agreed to go out with him unless I have prior engagements…"

"Why can't you have a prior engagement every time he wants to go out with you?" Sango piped up and Kagome snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Right. I'm sure he anticipates that from me. I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up at the studio at the end of my shift, demanding I have dinner with him, or something." Kagome _did_ entertain the thought of telling him she was busy for the first few times he called, but she knew him better than that. He would persist and persist until she relented and went out with him… and besides, the more she pushed him away the more he'd try to get closer and that was the last thing she needed.

What she needed was to formulate a plan to run away and have him not find her. Or have him disappear…

Whichever was easier.

"Maybe it won't be so bad?" Kikyo mused. "He's quite the looker, and his bank account should be hefty."

Sango crossed her arms and rested it on her very pregnant belly. "Yeah, Kiks, with _stolen_ money. This is a very serious game you're playing, Kagome. What if he doesn't back down and takes you as his wife?"

"She has to say _I do_ though." Yura pointed out.

"He's used to getting anything he wants." Sango snorted. "I doubt her lack consent will bother him."

"He could shower you with expensive gifts." Kikyo tapped her chin, going back to her diamonds and pretty dresses topic. "Stolen money does call for hefty merchandise."

Kagome could only groan and take another shot. She really needed to forget her worries and getting tipsy in her own studio was _not_ helping. Her best friend, cousin, and secretary were the oddest bunch she knew, and while sometimes they were able to help her, right at that moment they were pushing her more towards alcohol poisoning.

"What if I faked my own death?"

Kikyo quickly squashed that idea. "Nope. He probably owns the underground markets you'd have to buy a new identity from."

"The fact you were _so_ quick to answer that concerns me." Sango said, dryly.

Kikyo's retort was quickly drowned out by the sound of Kagome's ringing cell phone. All four girls were fast at looking at her ringing and vibrating device. It rang three times before Sango urged Kagome to answer.

"I don't recognize this number." Kagome murmured before picking up.

"Are you quite done analyzing our conversation and situation with your friends, sweetheart?"

Kagome mouthed to the girls: _It's him!_ Which caused them to scoot closer to her while Kagome put her phone on speaker.

"I am not."

"Baby, I was not born yesterday. It's embedded in your DNA to cut and analyze every aspect of every conversation you ever have in your life, and with this being possibly the strangest thing to ever happen to you, you are naturally discussing it with your friends." Kikyo fanned herself in an attempt to tell Kagome she thought Inuyasha sounded incredibly sexy.

Which he did.

But Kagome hated him so she wasn't allowed to think such blasphemous things.

"Did you call me to give me a lesson on my DNA? And _don't_ call me baby, jerk."

His chuckle was low and velvety. Kagome looked at her friends and saw they were watching her expectantly.

"Of course I didn't call you to lecture about your DNA, that would be silly." Kagome noted he didn't acknowledge her complaint on his term of endearment for her. "My intention to call was to inquire if whether or not you are available tomorrow evening?"

Sango and Yura mouthed _yes_ while Kikyo mouthed _no_. Kagome was amused, she was expecting opposite responses from her friends.

"As of now I am, but I was about to make plans to go dancing with my friends… but that can be postponed to avoid having you entertain thoughts that I am intentionally rejecting you." Kagome tagged that last bit on for good measure. They had an agreement after all.

The line was silent for a few seconds before his voice crackled to life once again. "That's fine. You go ahead and make plans to go dancing. We can arrange another time."

 _Invite him?_ Yura mouthed and Kagome shook her head.

 _Not on your life!_

"Any venue plans?"

"You aren't slick, Takahashi." Kagome rolled her eyes. "If I tell you, you'll just show up."

His laughter was a beautiful sound, Kagome would even admit to it, but the spell he was trying to cast was not going to work on her. He wanted to know where she'd be so he could show up and she'd be _damned_ if he did! It would ruin her night completely. Not that she had anything planned…

Yet.

"Au contraire, Kagome, I am not the type to impose onto my woman's plans. I was merely going to send a few of my men to watch out for you ladies as you enjoyed your night." His voice was melodic, as if he had just sung his sentence instead of saying it. "You never know who might have ill intentions these days."

"No," Kagome said in a snarky tone. "You never know has ill intentions." She was pointedly referring to him and he chose to ignore her.

"I will call you tomorrow night then?"

"Is this your number?"

"It is."

Kagome made a mental note to—

"Don't even think about blocking my number."

 _Never mind_. _Forgot he was a mind reader._

"Enjoy your night, Kagome."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye."

She hung up without even waiting to hear him respond. Exhaling loudly, she moved to pour herself another shot and gave her friends the opportunity to squeal, scream, and lash out. It took a few moments for her friends to register what happened and, as predicted, Kikyo recovered first.

"He's good."

Kagome nodded. "Persistent, I must say. By the way, why did _you_ ," she pointed an accusing finger at Kikyo, "say no to me when he asked me out on a date and _you two_ ," she pointed at Yura and Sango, "say yes?! That was _not_ the way you girls were supposed to answer. It was supposed to be the other way around"

Kikyo shrugged. "He's pushy. Sexy, yes, rich, yes, and sounds like a Greek God in a porno? Most definitely. But I don't like pushy and definitely not when it comes to my cousin and her marital status."

Kagome looked at Yura, who blushed in embarrassment. "I'm being a hopeless romantic. What if you fall in love?" Kagome was ready to punch Yura for even using the word _love_ in reference to her and Inuyasha. The idea itself was enough to make her throw up her dinner. Choosing to ignore her, Kagome turned her attention to Sango.

Shrugging, Sango already had a response ready. "If you said no outright he'd be quite pushy, so I was trying to save you a headache."

 _How considerate._

"So we're going clubbing tomorrow?" Kikyo squealed. "This somewhat worked in our favour, wouldn't you say?"

Yura nodded feverishly. "I haven't been out on the town in _ages_ … it'll give me a good break from this place. No offense to you."

"None taken. You'll be okay tomorrow?" Kagome asked Sango.

"Yeah, I gotta unpack all you guys' shit anyway. Call Yura, Eri, and Ayumi to go with you though. The more the merrier."

Kagome put her shot glass down upside down signalling that she was done her jiggle juice intake for the evening. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go to _Goshinboku_ tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

 _.xx._

The girls were dolled up and ready to go. The plans formulated quite quickly, with Kikyo taking charge and calling their friends, inviting them to go clubbing. Within hours, Yuka, Eri, Ayumi, Yura, Kagome, Kikyo, and a few other friends were at Yura's apartment, dressed, hyped, and already predrunk. Kagome, especially, decided to really dress up for the occasion; it was her outlet to forget her life at the moment.

She sported a short black dress with an off the shoulder straps. Kagome made sure to have a gold and silver cross-body bag to keep her personal belonging in and, to complete her look, she coloured her lips with ruby red lipstick while donning matching red pumps. She wanted to be the centre of attention that night, she wanted men to be giving _her_ their attention—anybody was better than Inuyasha.

"Ready?" Yura picked up her keys.

"Ready!" The rest chimed.

And they were off.

 _.xx._

Hip-hop top 40s blasted through the club and bodies meshed together on the dancefloor. Strobe lights and disco balls created an energetic and fun ambiance that had the girls in the mood for dancing before they entered the club. Kagome was behind Yura in their conga line; it was the only way the girls could enter without getting lost.

"Drinks?" Yura shouted and the others nodded. Looping her hand through Yuka and Eri, the trio were off to the bar to get their friends some drinks.

The rest stayed on the dance floor.

Kagome left her worries and problems at the door; nothing was going to bring her down. Kikyo, Kagome, Ayumi and a couple of their other friends found their spot on the dance floor and began to dance away life's difficulties. Kagome swayed her body to the left, flicked her head to the right, and let her hands sway to the beat of the bass. Unbeknownst to the girls, they had attracted a lot of attention and, before they knew it, a group of guys danced their way over to them.

One of the guys had his eyes set on Kagome.

Oblivious to everything, Kagome welcomed the handsome stranger to dance with her. His hands gripped her waist and he pulled her body closer to his, enveloping her in the warmth of his frame. Somehow Yura managed to thrust Kagome's drink in her hand and, with the predrinking from Yura's apartment earlier that night, and the drink in her hand, Kagome had just about forgotten everything that had been bugging her all week.

 _He's cute!_ Kikyo mouthed to Yura. The latter girl nodded in agreement.

 _What about Inuyasha?_ Yura mouthed back and Kikyo rolled her eyes.

 _Fuck him_.

The song mixed in to another top 40 hit and the crowd went wild. Girls got on tables to dance, and extremely intoxicated individuals began making out with one another. Kagome, however, just wanted to dance.

She wanted to forget.

She wanted to—

"Do you wanna go somewhere private?"

Kagome finally looked up at the man she was dancing with. He was cute, needless to say, broad shoulders, brooding brown eyes, and a mop of jet black hair, but not anybody she wanted to go home with. She shook her head indicating she did _not_ want to go somewhere private.

The stranger wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"Come on."

"No." Kagome repeated, stepping away from him. His hands, immediately, went to her waist to pull her back towards him.

"But we're having so much fun."

"I don't want to." Panic began to rise in her voice. Was this dude seriously _not_ going to give up? Sure she could deal with deadly gangsters like Inuyasha that wanted to marry her but that meant one thing: Inuyasha wouldn't hurt her because he intended on _marrying_ her. That meant keeping her alive. This guy, though, had no intention other that getting in to her panties and Kagome was very certain he would resort to violence if necessary.

"But it'll be fun." He tried to draw her closer. A few of the girls noticed Kagome's distress and Yura quickly tried to intercept.

"Excuse me, but she doesn't want to go with you."

"Nobody asked you, bitch."

"Excuse me?!"

Kagome began to struggle in his arms but he man wouldn't relent. A crowd began to surround them and Kagome could see from the corner of her eyes two large security guards rushing towards them. Relief was slowly beginning to fill her when, out of nowhere, the stranger was thrown off of Kagome and on to the floor. All eyes whipped to a seething Inuyasha.

Kagome's heart was pounding in her chest. _Uh oh…_

"If a lady says no, she says no." By then the music stopped playing.

The man that was exuding so much confidence just a moment ago was quivering under Inuyasha's icy gaze.

"I'm—I'm so sorry, boss."

Kagome's eyes widened. _Boss?_

"Get out." Inuyasha's voice was husky and low, displaying the sheer authority he commanded once again. Kagome's friends looked from one to another and finally at Kagome.

The man scrambled to get out of the club but was stopped promptly by security, who took the pleasure in seeing him out. No sooner did the mess start it ended. The music was playing once again and all those watching went back to dancing.

"Will you come to the bar with me?" Inuyasha asked, gently running his fingers down the length of Kagome's arm. She tried not to wretch away from him.

 _This asshole was following me!_

"I, uh…"

Her eyes flickered to her friends who ushered her to go. She knew they were right, besides, he wouldn't actually take no for an answer… the only good thing about him was that he wasn't going to force himself onto her.

"Sure."

Inuyasha guided Kagome to the far end of the club, where the bar was nicely situated. For the duration of their walk, Kagome was aware of how his fingers never left the small of her back. If he was trying to make her feel safe, it wasn't working. She knew he wouldn't _actually_ kill her, but that didn't mean she liked him any.

"You're following me." She accused as soon as they slipped onto their barstools.

"How quick to jump to conclusions," Inuyasha purred, his smile lighting up his face. "I, actually, was not."

"Then how…?"

"I own this place."

Kagome blanked. "You _what_?"

"Own Goshinboku." Inuyasha glanced at the bartender and waved him over. "Once a week I check up on it and today happened to be that day."

"I don't believe you."

"I never asked you to, sweetheart."

Kagome simply glowered at him with all the hatred her tiny body could muster up. The more that man talked, the more she hated him. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?!

"You know, instead of wishing death upon me, you could thank me for saving you."

"Security was already on their way. And _don't_ call me sweetheart."

Inuyasha smirked. "That's true, but I believe I was the more heroic option." Without fail, he ignored her complaint about his endearment. He wasn't going to listen to her anyway.

"I wasn't looking for heroism. Besides, I was perfectly fine on my own. I could've kicked his ass."

"Sure," Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "with your deadly jazz hands."

It took a moment to realize what he said and, as much as she hated herself for doing it, she laughed. His joke was actually funny and she couldn't help it! She laughed. Inuyasha seemed mighty pleased with himself, too.

"Fine, you win this round. Thank you for saving me from creep back there." Kagome offered. "He works for you?" She recalled him calling Inuyasha boss.

He shook his head. "No, I haven't seen that guy before but I'm sure he knows who I am."

"Quite the reputation you have," Kagome remarked, remembering the maître d' calling Inuyasha _Lord_ just the previous day, and now strangers referring to him as _boss_. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"You really don't feel anything, much less know about how you do." He pointed out while sipping the drink the bartender passed him. "You look quite stunning tonight."

Kagome glanced down at herself and back at Inuyasha. "Thanks, attracting the wrong kind of attention, though."

"It attracted mine."

"Wrong kind." She repeated.

He snickered. "Will you dance with me?"

"No."

"Are we playing this game again?"

"Yes."

"Fine," he shrugged. "Enjoy your night; I'll be in touch with you tomorrow."

Kagome's eyes widened, just slightly. She wasn't expecting him to agree with her so quickly, but she wasn't one to complain. "Sounds like a good idea." She heard herself say. Inuyasha nodded and put a large bank note on the table, indicating to the bartender that whatever Kagome wanted that night was on him.

"You don't have to."

"No, I don't." He agreed. "But I know how to take care of my future wife." Without waiting for a response, he winked at her and left.

Kagome was dumbfounded. _What the actual hell just happened?_

 _.xx._

Kagome really didn't have as bad of a hangover as she thought she would. She drank in moderation, partied like she hadn't in a while (this point was true), came home and slept. All-in-all, it was a good time with the exception of creep wanting to kidnap her and Inuyasha coming to her rescue.

She still had mixed feelings about the latter.

Sango was still asleep when Kagome woke up, and Souta and her father weren't home, and Jii-chan was off doing priestly things in and around their shrine. As quietly as possible, Kagome tip-toed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Sango and her all while prepping her grandfather's meals for the day. He, apparently, was on a strict diet courtesy of his dietitian. _Why Jii-chan has a dietitian, I will never know_. Just as she entered the kitchen, her phone vibrated in her back pocket, signalling to her that she received a text message.

It was from a familiar number that Kagome never saved in her contacts list.

Inuyasha!

 _Good morning, sweetheart_.

She **really** didn't want to respond but she practically promised him that she'd be fair in this whole courting ritual. In any case, if she gave him what he wanted (save marrying him), the less he'd bug her and the more time she'd have to focus on how to get rid of him.

 _Morning. And I told you, do not call me sweetheart._

She set her phone on the table and began working her magic in the kitchen. While cracking two eggs in to a glass bowl, her phone vibrated again.

 _Slept well?_ Somehow she wasn't surprised that he totally ignored her request, _again_. She was beginning to think she was wasting her breath telling him not to call her baby or sweetheart because, apparently, he did it anyway.

 _I did, thank you._ She wasn't going to ask how he slept. It was of no importance to her, or her life. The asshole made her sell her home and now he wanted to engage in pleasantries? He can shove that up his—

 _Will you have dinner with me tonight?_

She gawked at the message. "Did he just _ask_ me?" She was half expecting a demand. Before she could respond, he had sent another message.

 _My friend has just launched a new restaurant and she is having a handful of customers at her grand opening tonight. I'm sure you'd enjoy the place._

He was being considerate. Great. The world was ending.

 _What time were you thinking?_ She had to be pleasant. Besides, she couldn't really come up with another excuse to _not_ go, she had already dodged him the night before. Twice!

 _Eight? You'll be home on time to have enough rest for work tomorrow._

Double considerate. What the hell, man!

Kagome inhaled deeply before typing her response. The ball was in his court and their dance was fully underway—Kagome knew, deep down, that it was going to be a tough battle, for whoever danced with the devil, always got burned.

 _Sounds like a plan. Pick me up at eight?_

 _See you then._

 _.xx._


	7. To Rendezvous with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Rendezvous with the Devil_

Kagome was not at all surprised when Inuyasha called her a few hours after his text message to inform her that she had to wear red. The man clearly had a problem with telling women what to wear. Kagome was _also_ not surprised when he said that she needed to look like arm-candy. She had an inkling from their first interaction that he wanted to show her off like a trophy and, apart from the fact she was _not_ going to marry him for a plethora of valid reasons, she did not want to be his trophy wife.

Sango had mixed feelings about her date with him.

"You were the one that told me to go out with him."

"Well, yeah but… you're going to a party in _his_ world, Kagome." Sango stroked her belly affectionately. "You don't know what his world entails…"

Kagome knew Sango was right. All they knew was that Inuyasha was an elite gangster, ruling the entire so-called "underworld". Kagome had no other knowledge of what he did, how he made his money, or just how lethal he was. She was certain that his franchise of _Shikon_ stores only brought in _so_ much, and his lavish lifestyle definitely required more money than what a clothing store can generate. The only reason _she_ got away with being defiant was because she knew that what he needed her for required her to be alive.

"You're walking right in to his comfort zone." Sango warned.

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip. "You're making me reconsider…"

"You already agreed. You could've waited to ask me."

"Who knew you would spew out such logic!" Kagome threw her hands in the air in resignation and went to go lie down on the sofa. The more she thought the more her head hurt— _why can't I turn my brain off?!_

Sango sat down beside her and pat her ankle. "The deed is done. You have no other choice but to go."

Kagome shoved a cushion in her face. Why couldn't she suffocate herself?

"It's already four, you should go shower and get ready."

"I don't want to."

Sango could feel the hurt, confusion, and agony her best friend was feeling. It was unfair how she was forced to go through such torture just because her father wanted to find a mermaid— _a mermaid!_ Sango wondered if he watched The Little Mermaid before getting the idea of fish-people stuck in his head. What was next? Centaurs?

"You have to. Come on, get up and shower and I'll curl your hair…"

Kagome threw the cushion off of her face and glared at the ceiling. "I hope he breaks his ankle on his walk up the shrine steps and we can't go."

"Wishful thinking."

 _.xx._

Sango had a red dress from before her pregnancy that she loaned Kagome. It was mermaid (on the irony) style, hugging Kagome's every curve before flowing out around her ankles. The halter style allowed for Kagome to show off a simple yet elegant gold encrusted diamond necklace. Small diamond studs adorned her ears and, to top off her ensemble, she wore a paisley patterned sparkling stone headband. Sango took it upon herself to paint Kagome's nails gold, and pin her curls up in a loose half ponytail.

Both ladies admired their handiwork in the full length mirror in Kagome's room.

"Perfect."

Kagome nodded, agreeing with Sango's statement. She had never felt so beautiful in her life and it was ironic that she dolled herself up for the single male character she _didn't_ want to impress. "I should ditch the party and find myself a fine looking specimen to spend my time with."

"Unfortunately Inuyasha has to be the finest specimen I've ever seen." Sango revealed with embarrassment. "He's an ass wipe, one hundred and fifty percent yes, but he's a sexy ass wipe."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You girls need to figure out whether you hate him or like him."

Sango playfully slapped Kagome's butt. "I'll let you know when I do. Now come! Final touches before the Devil comes and gets you."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth, Kagome's phone rang.

 _Jackass 9000 Calling_

Sango snickered. "Speak of the Devil…"

 _.xx._

Inuyasha sipped his whiskey with a stony expression. Miroku had delivered quite some terrible news and Inuyasha ready to throw his glass at the wall. "Kouga couldn't find him?" His voice was lethal and frightened Miroku slightly.

"He couldn't."

Inuyasha's hold on the whiskey glass tightened incredibly hard, causing the glass to shatter unintentionally. Miroku's eyes flickered to the glass shards shattering around Inuyasha before looking back at him. The anger Inuyasha emanated was tangible, the fear he was ready to instill was real—Inuyasha was in his element.

"I want Jaken found and I want him taken care of." Inuyasha stood up and idly glanced at his hand, a few cuts were present but nothing that wouldn't heal within a day or two. "But before Kouga is through, I want to know _why_ he was in Goshinboku and why he was dancing with Kagome. He knew _very well_ , like everybody else that works for me, that she is not to be _looked_ at, let alone touched."

Miroku nodded. "Yes." As he turned to leave, Inuyasha called out.

"One more thing."

Miroku glanced over his shoulder.

"I told Kagome I didn't know who the guy dancing with her was… let's keep it that way, okay?"

This was interesting… "Why did you lie to her?"

Inuyasha walked over to his window; a gateway that overlooked the entire city. He was in his empire, the one he built on his blood, sweat, and tears. An empire he promised his mother that he'd have one day, though he honestly doubted she would've approved the way he _built_ it, but that was besides the fact.

 _Why **did** I lie to her? _ Inuyasha thought, trying to bring reason to what Miroku asked him.

"I don't want her knowing the details of what we really do."

Miroku frowned. "Yet she knows you're Tetsu Saiga?"

"That business project is legal." Inuyasha muttered. "It's the other shit I don't want her involved with—and the fact that I'm bound to her no matter _what_ either of us want? The whole situation is fucking bullshit." Inuyasha snarled while throwing a punch at his wall. Miroku winced when he heard the drywall shatter.

 _Again with the wall breaking?! Dear Buddha…_

"Find Jaken. Get rid of him." Inuyasha said through gritted teeth. "Make sure Kagome never finds out."

Miroku nodded. "Very well…"

Inuyasha heard his door click shut before examining the damage to his fist. _"Keh,"_ he wrung his wrist a few times while striding to his desk. He sunk in to his leather armchair and picked his cellphone up with his good hand. It was drawing close to seven and he would soon leave to pick Kagome up to go to Midoriko's restaurant.

 _I know way too many people that own restaurants_ , Inuyasha thought dryly as he scrolled to find Kagome's number in his contacts. _Bankotsu and his brothers own Kazanna, Midoriko just opened hers, and Tokijin owns Basil._ Inuyasha was seriously considering expanding his ring of friends—he'd gain fifty pounds if he kept going at this rate.

"Hello?"

Her voice was nonchalant as she picked up, but Inuyasha picked up on the underlying nervousness. Purposely he put on a smile; he knew that if he _looked_ pissed off while he spoke to her, his tone would come off as such. The last thing he needed was to scare her off, he was already doing so well in that she was comfortable enough to threatened him and push him to his limits. One wrong move on his part and it could result in her building a wall and never allowing him to get close enough to have her want to marry him.

 _Fucking predicament. I swear, when I find you Naraku…_

"Hello, sweetheart." Inuyasha's voice was otherwise his mood.

"Hi?" Inuyasha heard rustling in the background. _Probably Sango._

"Ready?"

Again he heard rustling. "Just about."

"Good," Inuyasha pushed himself off of his chair. "I'll be there shortly."

"But it's only six thirty."

Inuyasha scanned his room for his blazer—he remembered taking it off just as he walked in to his office and now, of course, he couldn't locate it. "I know." He didn't give her any more information. He needed to maintain his aura of mystery; the less Kagome knew the better.

She was getting riled up, her tone said it all. "Whatever. See you soon."

He smirked hearing her hang up. She was quite the character; she held her own, fought when she had to, and was feisty beyond words. The latter was a trait that Inuyasha was particularly fond of. He enjoyed his women feisty. Onanother positive note, she was very easy on the eyes. Perhaps in another lifetime he could've done things differently with respects to Kagome...

 _But unfortunately for us, we're stuck here._

 _.xx._

The knock on her shrine door broke Kagome out of her reverie. Sango squeaked and the girls' eyes locked, both sharing the same thought at the same time: _He's here_. Hurriedly, Sango put away the yogurt she was snacking on and followed Kagome to the door.

"I'll call you at ten thirty for your getaway, okay?" Sango and Kagome had a plan; the former would call the latter at ten thirty sharp, indicating she had "acute abdominal pain" (they threw in the word 'acute' just in case Sango was experiencing real abdominal pain at ten thirty and _actually_ needed Kagome's help, she would then say she was suffering "abdominal pains", omitting the word acute). Kagome would then either say: Be right there! Meaning she was going to make a getaway or, call Souta, which would mean she was okay and didn't need to make a hasty exit.

It was foolproof.

"Okay." Kagome whispered just before sliding the door open.

Although she was good with keeping a straight face, Sango let her jaw dropped unashamedly. He was dressed in a cleanly cut and well-trimmed dark grey suit, complete with vest, blazer, red tie and matching pocket square. The head of signature silver hair was pulled back in to a tight braid and, for some reason, the entire ensemble accentuated his scar.

"Kagome," he bowed his head slightly. "You're looking absolutely stunning."

"Thanks, Casanova." Kagome rolled her eyes and muttered dryly. She had to hand it to him, he was a stunning man. Everything about him oozed perfection (other than his personality), and if he were anybody else, Kagome would've swooned a long time ago. Too bad he was who he was, had the personality that he did… Kagome detested him with every fibre in her body and couldn't wait to formulate a plan that erased his presence from her life completely.

 _Until then, Higurashi, endure him and play his game_. Kagome consoled herself.

"Sango," Inuyasha tilted his head to greet the pregnant best friend.

Sango nodded at him and conspicuously pushed Kagome towards him. "Okay you two, have fun… get home safe… and… yeah…" She didn't know what else to say! What the hell do you say to a guy who was probably the most dangerous man anyone had ever met who was _also_ about to take your best friend out on a dinner date? A date taking place in _his_ world surrounded by _his_ people?

 _Nothing. You say nothing._

Kagome nodded and brushed past Inuyasha and out of the shrine. He smirked and nodded at Sango once more before following Kagome.

 _Feisty._

Like the gentleman that he was, Inuyasha held her door open for her and helped her inside before boarding the vehicle after her. Ginta, his trusted driver, was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the two to get comfortable. "To Midoriko's?"

"Yes." Inuyasha called and Ginta pulled onto the street.

Inuyasha took the opportunity to fully study Kagome… he hadn't been lying, she did look stunning. She was more than stunning; she was majestic, almost ethereal. Inuyasha's eyes trailed over her curves, and he studied the way the dress hugged her body. He saw her chewing the inside of her cheek, and fiddling with the faint gold clutch in her hand.

She was nervous.

"Nervous for tonight?" He asked, in an effort to break the silence between them. She had to give him an opening; he understood how she must've felt but god _damnit_ , her lack of reaction and consistent brushing him off was grating his nerves.

"No."

He raised an eyebrow and she peeked over at him.

"Fine. A little."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," he leaned into his seat. "I'll be there to protect you."

"I can take care of myself. Deadly jazz hands, remember?" she reminded him with a snort. "And I'm more afraid of being stuck with you for the next few hours than anything else. Remind me again why we can't call it even?"

"Because you're going to be my wife."

"Right." Her tone was sarcastic and dry. "Could've told me that before I sold my house."

His lips twitched. "Could've, but it's more fun this way."

"Glad one of us is finding amusement in this."

"What _I_ find amusing is that you have no apprehension in trying to piss me off," he tilted his head towards her. "Why's that, sweetheart?"

Kagome didn't look at him when she spoke. She was afraid if she did, she'd knock his pearly whites out and that would _definitely_ give him a reason to blow her brains out of her skull. "Common sense, really."

"Is it?"

"It is. And since you lack common sense, there really is no reason to tell you."

He walked in to that one. She was quick with her words and fast with her wit, refreshing, but terribly annoying. Inuyasha had no idea how to respond, react, or even deal with Kagome. She was on another level and for some ungodly reason she felt that she commanded more fear and presence than Inuyasha did. _She has no idea how lucky she is to be dealing with me… With her, I have enough patience to make the Saints look bad_.

He didn't have a lot of patience, but Inuyasha would be damned if he didn't learn to exercise the virtue when it came to Kagome. He _had_ to be patient with her, he couldn't let her recoil back in to a shell.

It was a pleasant surprise when she suggested him courting her. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was trying to buy time to figure out how to get him off her trail, but Inuyasha thought he'd let her have her fun. It was cute, watching her squirm. It was especially cute the way her eyes came to life when she was busy hating him…

 _Get your mind off of how attractive she is_. Inuyasha had to scold himself. _Just do what you're supposed to do: court her, and marry her._

"Your consistent jabs at me are getting rather old, Kagome." He murmured. Inuyasha didn't miss it when she glanced over at him, but as quickly as she turned towards him, she turned back.

"You deserve it." She muttered.

For once in Inuyasha's life, he decided not to argue back.

And Kagome kind of felt bad.

 _.xx._


	8. To Tolerate the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 **NOTE: ALL CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN EDITED AND CHANGED SLIGHTLY. RECOMMEND SKIMMING THROUGH THE CHAPTERS. THIS CHAPTER HAS ALSO BEEN ALTERED A LITTLE BIT.**

 _.xx._

 _To Tolerate the Devil_

The rest of the car ride was amicable, albeit quiet. The more time elapsed, the more and more Kagome felt like a jerk who was nothing but mean to a man that wanted to flip her life upside down (poetic justice?). What Kagome wanted was to call Sango (or Kikyo or Yura… it didn't matter to her at this point), and ask if she should tone down her attitude a little bit.

 _He_ is _playing my game now._ She thought, biting her lower lip. Her action did not go unnoticed by Inuyasha and his chest tightened. He was, after all, a hot-blooded man and Kagome was _definitely_ a looker.

 _I told him to court me and that's what he's doing. He hasn't demanded anything… yet… and he was considerate enough to_ ask _me to go to dinner with him and bring me home on time so I can get enough rest for work tomorrow._ It didn't undo all the damage he'd already done, but he was evidently trying to give her what _she_ wanted, despite how insignificant her wants were… (As he had pointed out, she was marrying him whether she liked it or not). Courting, wooing, and dating here were most probably to humour her, but for a man that got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, humouring her was probably a big deal for him, something he was not used to.

Kagome wanted her mother.

She needed some good advice.

 _Go with your heart, Kagome._ She advised herself, thinking that was what her mother would've said should she have been with her today. Granted, her mother would never had allowed her to be in such a situation. Korari Higurashi would've had Akira six feet under before ever accepting a loan of such an amount from Inuyasha. But, seeing as how Kagome was _in_ her situation, her mother either would've told her to a) high tail it out of there, change her identity, and start a new life, or b) go with her gut feeling.

Kagome was leaning towards the gut feeling option.

 _Go with what you think it's right. You can't control the situation, but you can control how it unfolds. According to him I_ will _marry him one day – although I think otherwise—and he's humouring me by dating me… the least I could do is not make it_ ** _very_** _difficult for him._ She intended to make it difficult, without a doubt, but perhaps if she toned it down just a smidgen? After all, they were entering his world and the last thing she needed was other mob-like personnel wishing death upon her.

Before she realized it, Kagome made up her mind: she would be amicable for the remainder of the night (and maybe thereafter, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet), but she wouldn't bend over backwards for him either. She would maintain an aura of indifference but she wouldn't be a dick to him. Maybe by doing so it would clear her mind and allow her to think of a plan to get rid of him that wasn't surrounded by sheer hatred and anger. Her decision could, in fact, help her soul a little bit and allow her to be rational instead of emotional.

She was so deep in thought that she was oblivious to Inuyasha studying her. He was studying her curves, the set of her chin, the way her fingers drummed the leather upholstery of his car— _she's beautiful_.

He had seen her previously, yes, but he hadn't really seen her. Inuyasha hadn't been privy to _her_ and her natural beauty. He saw her shift a little and quickly averted his gaze; he didn't need her knowing that he was watching her… she already hated him. He really didn't want her thinking that he was a creep.

"So…" Kagome started slowly. "What type of food does Midoriko serve?"

Were his ears deceiving him? Was she putting forth effort to have a conversation? Inuyasha resisted smirking; it might undo whatever epiphany she just had. He responded to her with a one shouldered shrug and subconsciously went to rub the scar on his face.

"Haven't a clue."

Kagome nodded slowly and twiddled her thumbs. She was nervous.

"I am allergic to citrus…" She said, really slowly and he raised both eyebrows.

"Citrus…?"

She nodded again. "Um… yeah, I know, really weird. Every time I go to the restaurant I make there aren't lemons or oranges, or anything citric, is in what I eat. You know... don't want to go in to anaphylactic shock..."

 _She is very nervous._ Inuyasha couldn't help but feel amused. He could not recall her _ever_ being nervous around him. Intimidated, yes, but nervous? Nope.

"It's not weird," he was relaxing further in his seat—with Kagome attempting to make small talk, it actually soothed him. He wouldn't admit it, but her voice had calming properties to it when she wasn't shrieking at him like a banshee. Life with her would be interesting, to say the least, and he was not looking forward to their marital banters.

"There could be weirder things," he closed his eyes suddenly feeling terribly exhausted. "There's a girl allergic to water."

Kagome frowned. "Really?"

"Hmm…" He replied, suddenly feeling incredibly drowsy.

"Are you sleepy?"

"Hmm…"

He was dozing off and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake it off. Her voice was just too damn relaxing. To his chagrin, Kagome stopped conversing with him and he fell in to a dreamless slumber.

 _.xx._

"Inuyasha?"

Nimble hands shook his shoulder.

"Inuyasha…?"

With a jump, Inuyasha shot awake. "Where's the fire?"

His eyes searched his surroundings before landing on the beautiful siren beside him. Reality crashed down on him again and he quickly recovered from his state of discombobulation. "How long was I out for?"

Inuyasha was very aware of when her hand withdrew from his shoulder. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss the warmth and tenderness of her touch… It had been a while since he felt the warmth and comfort of a woman. Personal choice, on his part, but that didn't mean that he didn't miss the feeling of a woman in his bed.

"The whole drive plus some."

He frowned. "Plus some?"

Kagome nodded sheepishly. "Ginta and I didn't have the heart to wake you and since we were early, we let you sleep for half an hour while we chatted."

Inuyasha was amused. Ginta and Kagome had a conversation for a half hour while he snoozed in his back seat? Whatever epiphany she had, he hoped she didn't go back to how she was prior to it. He knew she was being cautious – that was a given – but he enjoyed how she now seemed like she could tolerate his presence. If she was anybody else and gave him a third of the lip she did, their brains would've been blasted out of their head.

Inuyasha had anger issues, he knew he did, and it landed him in situations that were extremely unpleasant. But he'd be damned if he allowed those issues to surface when he was around Kagome, ergo the saint-like patience he practiced when she was on one of her many tirades of him being a jackass that wanted to ruin her life.

 _On the contrary, sweetheart, I'm saving your life._ He thought, ruefully. If only she knew. Alas, he couldn't tell her. Not yet at least.

"You should've just awoken me as soon as we got here."

Kagome shrugged silently. He seemed tired; she didn't have the heart to wake him… It was part of her new ruse of being nice. She didn't care if he was well rested or not, she was simply relieved that she had half an hour of no-Inuyasha time to herself. Besides, Ginta was decent company. At least Ginta wasn't telling her that she would be marrying him every other sentence... no, she quite enjoyed Inuyasha's presence when he wasn't consciously present.

He cracked his neck and the sound made Kagome wince; she finally knew how Yura and Sango felt when she cracked her neck around them. It was a gut churning sound. Inuyasha released a jaw-splitting yawn and shrugged his shoulders back a couple of times, in an attempt to release his muscles, before pushing his door open. "Well, no time like the present." He turned around after getting out of his car and extended his arm out to Kagome. "Shall we?"

She looked at his extended arm for a moment.

 _Be nice. Be nice._

She slipped her fingers into his large, warm, and much calloused hands. Despite her initial assumption of being unsafe around Inuyasha and the potential harm that could befall her, she couldn't shake the feeling that his fingers wrapped around hers felt nothing but safe.

Complete and utter safeness…

She scooted out of the vehicle and snatched her hand out of his arm. Inuyasha chuckled and didn't miss the opportunity to snake his arm around her waist and guide her to the waiter doubling as a bouncer just outside of Midoriko's restaurant, _Honekui no Ido._ Inuyasha simply nodded at the gentleman stationed outside and languidly entered the restaurant with Kagome by his side. Since they were entering _his_ world, Kagome decided not to wretch away from his touch, as much as it burned the surface of her skin.

A red carpet was rolled out for the prestigious guests in attendance, and Kagome was quick to notice how high-end the event was. The restaurant was grand and elegant, crystal chandeliers illuminating every corner with a warm glow, complemented by marble tiles that fleshed with deep oak hardwood. Kagome was unashamed of how slack her jaw went and how wide her eyes became. Never in her life did she see a place so beautiful...

"See blondie over there?" Inuyasha leaned down and whispered in to Kagome's ear. Her eyes flickered to the direction Inuyasha was gesturing.

"Hmm..." She was quiet, she picked up on the fact he was trying to maintain a low profile.

"Princess Genevieve of Sweden."

Kagome tried to mask her look of surprise. "Princess?"

"Midoriko knows people. She's a powerful woman and a splendid ally." Inuyasha scanned the foyer. He could tell Kagome was trying to digest her surroundings and the people around her. She was, unaware, however that she was in the arms of the most powerful person in the room. "And that guy," he tilted his head to a hobbling old man. "Totosai. He supplied weapons for us until three years ago when he retired. Still a valuable asset, though."

Kagome nodded, meekly. She felt incredibly intimidated. Inuyasha was about to introduce another character in the foyer to Kagome but his cellphone ringing caused a distraction. He released his hold on Kagome's waist and promptly answered his telephone, walking a few steps away from his 'date'. Kagome decided to take the opportunity to explore whatever she could in the foyer; she was eyeing a chocolate fountain not too far off and she was sure Inuyasha wouldn't miss her terribly if she decided to... indulge.

"Takahashi." He glanced over his shoulder to see Kagome bee lining to Midoriko's chocolate fountain. He smirked, he somehow predicted that.

"Hmmm. Yep. I knew you would. Yeah, okay..." Inuyasha licked his lower lip and scanned his surroundings once more. He had both allies and enemies present in the restaurant and it put him on edge. He really didn't want people noticing Kagome but at the same time he needed people to know that she was affiliated with him. It was a double-edged sword.

Inuyasha nodded, despite knowing the person on the other side of the phone couldn't see him. "Okay, send the message." Inuyasha's gut clenched when he saw Kagura and Kanna. They were siblings to who he considered his mortal enemy: Naraku. He was praying Naraku wasn't present and hoped Midoriko knew better than to invite them both. He _especially_ didn't want Kagome to be anywhere near the mother fu-

"Yeah, still here. Listen, I have to let you go for now, I'm at Midoriko's grand opening."

Hanging up, Inuyasha weaved his way over to Kagome and promptly stopped her from inhaling her fifth chocolate covered strawberry. She turned red out of sheer embarrassment but made no move to voice it. With great difficulty, she swallowed her strawberry and gently dabbed her face with a napkin. "Everything okay?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, it was Kouga with an update with work…"

Kagome raised both eyebrows. "Work? As in at Shikon?"

He wanted to laugh, he really did. Kagome seemed entirely too oblivious with his line of work, and that was ironic seeing as he had talked about a few killings done courtesy of his men in her presence. In her defence, though, she was probably too busy figuring out how to pay back a substantial loan to him and the conversation might've gone through one ear and out the other.

"Not Shikon, sweetheart."

"Then? And can you please stop calling me sweetheart."

"Just work. And let's get one thing straight, I will call you whatever I want. Besides," he winked at her, "sweetheart suits you."

Kagome scoffed but remained silent.

Inuyasha's thoughts trailed back to the conversation he had with Kouga and was glad that he was able to get Kagome to forget about her question about work. He wasn't about to tell her that Kouga found Jaken and decapitated him, quickly sending a message to Naraku as it was discovered that Jaken was playing the role of a double agent. She didn't need to know such details of what he did. Inuyasha was sure she had a _clue_ , but what she knew was probably what everybody else in all of Japan perceived him to be: a mobster that did shady shit to make money and run the city. And, for the time being, he was okay with that perception.

Inuyasha wanted to divert her train of thought, lest she asked him about his work again, and was quick to point out a broad shouldered, silver haired mirror image of himself strolling across the foyer. "That ugly lump is my brother, Sesshomaru."

Kagome coughed to stop herself from laughing. _Ugly lump? You two look exactly the same, except the nose_. "Quite the lump." She agreed and tried very hard to hide the sarcasm from her voice. Inuyasha saw right through her stunt and scowled.

Bells began ringing around the perimeter of the foyer and a loud melodic voice boomed through a PA system. "Midoriko," Inuyasha quickly said.

 _Attention honourable guests! I want to personally thank you for coming to the grand opening of_ _Honekui no_ _Ido. You have bestowed upon me unexplainable honour for allowing your presence in my restaurant. Seating will commence shortly in an orderly fashion that corresponds to the Class designation on your invitation. At this moment, I would like to invite guests in Class A and B to enter through the Western Gates_ _._

The voice cackled to a stop and Inuyasha took the opportunity to snake his arm around Kagome's waist once again. Despite how nice she wanted to be, him constantly touching her was beginning to get on her nerves. He already shut down her complaints about calling her _sweetheart_ , and she let him have it but she damn well wasn't going to let him get away with holding her whenever the hell he wanted to.

"You know you stop putting your hands on me."

"I could, but how else am I supposed to let others know that you're my woman."

Her eyes blazed to life. "Excuse me? I am _not_ —"

"Don't cause a scene her, sweetheart." He drawled. "Let's go take our seats, we're Class A."

Kagome shot daggers at him. If looks could kill…

"She should've put you in Class whatever-the-hell-is-after-Z." She didn't try to hide the distaste in her voice, all while trying to peel his arm away from her waist. Unfortunately, her attempts were in vain.

He chuckled, a low throaty sound. "Cute. You'll be pleased to know I'm the Guest of Honour."

"Is Midoriko crazy? Why _you_ if we have a Princess here?"

Inuyasha grinned, a broad expression that accented his deep masculine features which, in turn, accentuated his scar. Kagome kind of wanted to know how he got it… not that she cared or anything.

"You'll see." He teased. The closer they approached the Western Gate, the more crowded it became. Inuyasha relinquished his hold on Kagome and took half a step behind her. He placed his fingers on the small of her back and silently guided her to the waiters that were stationed to take the invitation guards from the guests. Within a matter of seconds, Inuyasha and Kagome were seated at a table big enough for a couple with a single rose centrepiece between them. Once again, Kagome was in awe.

"This place…"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and studied her. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Kagome nodded dumbly. "It is."

She missed the fact he was looking at her. "Do we get menus or is it fixed?" Kagome looked over at him.

"Fixed. Dinner is on the house today, but only so Midoriko can feed us her best dishes in hopes that we'll take to social media. You know she has a hashtag?" Inuyasha wanted to laugh at the incredulous expression on Kagome's face. It clearly said: _Get. Out._

"She does. Hashtag MidoIdo."

Kagome giggled. "How clever. I'll be sure to post pictures."

The right corner of his lip curved up slightly and he tore his gaze away from her to examine his surroundings. The weight of his gun was pressing against his hip and the spotted a few of his men lurking in the shadows of the main dining area. He never left without two things: his men, and his weapon. At that moment, more than ever, did he feel like he needed both since he was out in public with Kagome, and Kagura and Kanna were in the vicinity. Naraku, however, was yet to be seen. _Maybe Midoriko didn't invite him._ Inuyasha knew that notion was ridiculous. Kagura and Kanna never went anywhere without their older brother, so he had to be around.

Somewhere.

Within a matter of moments the dining hall was filled and the waiters were serving water, or other beverages. Inuyasha ordered both a bottle of red wine and bottle of white wine for their table. He put down a credit card that Kagome could not recognize to be affiliated with any major Japanese bank, and Inuyasha made no attempt to explain the origins of his credit card to her. The waiter poured Inuyasha a wineglass of red wine, and Kagome opted for the white.

 _Luckily I'm not allergic to grapes._ She thought as she took the first sip of her wine. _Bliss..._

"I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to eat here after today." Kagome muttered and he could only smile.

"Don't be so sure. You'd have an unlimited credit card like mine after you become a Takahashi."

 _Me, a Takahashi? Never_. "It's unlimited?"

Inuyasha noted that she avoided the marriage quip. "Yep." He didn't divulge further about his credit card and Kagome chose not to press the matter. They both were keeping secrets from each other and she didn't want to put herself in a position where he could use her curiosity against her.

 _Curiosity killed the cat, Higurashi_.

The lights slightly dimmed in the dining hall and Inuyasha relaxed in to the armchair Midoriko provided for her dining guests.

"And the show begins."

 _.xx._

 **As I said above, all chapters have been edited and all continuing errors are fixed. This is the first time I'm writing consistently in YEARS and, like any art, without practice, skills become rusty.**

 **Kagome's attitude had to be tweaked because I was finding it hard to initiate fluff LOL! But she won't be TOTALLY subservient, of course, she will maintain some attitude because really, WHO IS HE TO TELL HER TO MARRY HIM, GEEZ!**

 **Next chapter is coming out in a few days, and I like long reviews ;)**


	9. To Be Courted by the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Be Courted by the Devil_

Kagome started to feel idiotic to be in awe of everything that happened in the goddamned restaurant. No sooner did the words leave Inuyasha's lips, cocktail dancers began swaying through the dining hall, trailing feathers across certain guests' cheeks, and planting kisses on the others. Inuyasha was in his element, exuding confidence and sheer masculinity. It was odd that she felt _safe_ in his presence but Kagome was most certain that he somehow performed some form of voodoo to have her feel so at ease. There could've been no explanation other than that; she wasn't the type of woman to swoon at the feet of attractive men and, although she wasn't swooning, she felt like she was betraying her femininity by allowing herself to feel safe in his presence.

One of the cocktail dancer's placed a tulip on Kagome's plate and two of them kissed either of Inuyasha's cheeks. He did nothing but wink at them. One of them giggled and blushed, allowing Kagome to get the impression that the dancer had an itty bitty crush on him.

 _Why can't he just marry her?_

When the initial show was over with, Kagome noticed a raven haired beauty approached the centre of the dining hall with a microphone in hand.

"Midoriko?" She whispered.

Inuyasha nodded and took a languid sip of his wine.

"Good evening honourable guests!" Midoriko's authoritative voice reverberated around the dining hall. "And thank you for giving me the honour of your presence in the grand opening of _Honekui no Ido_! I am excited to be serving you the best of the best dishes that I have taken years to cultivate and perfect. All ingredients are fresh: fine ripe fruits and vegetables, freshly caught fish—you name it, we have it." Midoriko looked at each and every single one of her guests, beaming and glowing out of pure excitement. Kagome was beginning to feel excited _for_ her. It was almost tangible.

Midoriko turned and her eyes landed on Inuyasha. Her smile broadened further. "I want to give a particular special mention to my Guest of Honour tonight, Mister Takahashi Inuyasha, co-founder of Taisho Pharmaceutical, owner of Goshinboku Nightclub, and CEO of Takahashi Group of Companies, Half Demon Enterprises, and Dog General Freight Limited." Kagome almost face planted; he wasn't lying about the guest of honour quip.

"And, as a special treat, Takahashi has brought his lovely fiancée, Higurashi Kagome!"

The blood drained from her face and she could hear her temple pounding. Everything was in slow motion; she turned her head in time to see Inuyasha turned his head to look at hers. Their eyes met and she was aware of the shock that defied his confident aura. _Fiancée…?_

In the distance she could hear the crowd applauding them. Inuyasha stood up and adjusted the blazer of his suit before extending his arm out to Kagome. She looked down at his arm and back up to his eyes. _Fiancée?!_

She wanted to slap his arm away, flip the table, and run out of the restaurant. She wanted to kick and scream and swear at him with words that would make a sailor blush. She wanted to tell him to shove his proposal where the sun don't shine—

But, least of all, she didn't want to make a scene in his world with him being the guest of honour. She wasn't naïve, Kagome knew that Inuyasha was exercising a substantial amount of patience when it came to her and although she pushed him to his limits and irritated him 99.9% of the time, she didn't want to do something that would give him reason to punish her. So, Kagome did the next best thing: she took his arm, plastered on a fake smile, and avoided eye contact with everyone in the room.

She'd give him his moment right there, but he'd suffer afterwards.

 _.xx._

The car ride home was painstakingly quiet. Kagome didn't say a single word to Inuyasha after Midoriko introduced her as his fiancée. She ate her food, spoke to the waiter, and avoided him at all cost which was quite the feat, seeing as he was sitting literally two feet away from her at the same table. Inuyasha knew she was upset, that would go without saying. He had taken the liberty to tell Midoriko that he would be in attendance with his wonderful fiancée, Higurashi Kagome. It was his way of allowing the people in his world to know that she was under his protection, and a way for Naraku to find out through the grapevine.

Should he have told her first?

Absolutely.

If he could go back in time would he do things different?

Definitely not.

Ginta pulled the car up in front of the shrine and Kagome got out of the car before the vehicle could come to a full stop. Inuyasha was anticipating for Kagome to do something along the lines of throwing herself out of a moving vehicle, so he was quicker to exit the car and intercepted her before she could begin stomping up the steps that led to her shrine.

"Kag—"

"Higurashi." She spat while trying to side step him. "You can call me Higurashi."

He wasn't surprised.

"Kagome, listen to me."

"No!" She whirled onto him. "No. I am _not_ listening to you. What right do you have to tell _anybody_ that I'm your fiancée? Last I checked you were in the process of convincing me to marry you but _guess what_ buddy! It's **never** going to happen."

"Will you listen to me, wench?"

The deafening echo of a slap filled Inuyasha's ear. His head snapped violently to the left and, out of sheer habit, he pulled out his gun. Fortunately he had more sense than to point it at Kagome; it simply sat lifeless in his right hand. "Do _not_ call me wench, do _not_ call me ever again, and do _not_ entertain the fucking thought that I will marry you."

Inuyasha was in a world beyond the realm of shock. Kagome took that to her advantage and stormed off quickly, wanting to be in the sanctuary of her home before he recuperated. The burning image of Midoriko calling her the fiancée would be forever etched in to her brain, the peripheral image of Inuyasha pulling his gun out of his holster would probably be up there beside the image of Midoriko.

"Asshole." She snarled while stepping in to the shrine. She didn't even bother looking back at him. He could go to Hades in a handbag for all she cared.

"ASSHOLE!" Screamed once more, for good measure.

 _.xx._

Kouga was rolling on the floor laughing, but Miroku remained composed. Inuyasha's cheek was red (and throbbing, but he wasn't about to tell his wingmen that). He had to tell them what the hell happened – at least before Ginta told them – and much to his chagrin, his wingmen found absolute amusement in his pain. What amused _Kouga_ was that Inuyasha was able to have any woman writhe underneath him, but he was struggling to court the one woman that counted.

"What the hell possessed you to introduce her as your _fiancée_?!" Kouga heckled. "Do you understand the godsend you had when she _allowed_ you to practically date her?! You put your foot in your ass with that one."

"Shut up, Kouga." Miroku snorted. "We need to analyze the situation and –"

"What's there to analyze? Our boss is a tactless jellyfish!"

A vein pounded in Inuyasha's forehead and, before anybody could anticipate it, he threw his shoe at Kouga which hit him square on the forehead. That straightened him up real fast. Wordlessly, Kouga tossed Inuyasha's shoe back at him. "So what now?" Kouga said in a voice that was opposite his state five seconds ago.

Inuyasha grunted. "The hell if I know. I'm getting tired of her shit."

"You _did_ —"

"I did what was best for her."

Miroku shook his head. "No. You did what you _thought_ was best for her. Maybe if you tell us why you need to mar—"

Inuyasha cut him off. "No. I am not telling anybody _why_ , you just need to know that I do."

"She won't be saying 'I do' with your shitty personality." Kouga muttered. "Maybe you should've introduced her as your girlfriend."

"I knew she was feisty," Inuyasha ignored Kouga. He usually did. "But to _that_ extent? Her attitude is starting to piss me off."

"Put yourself in her shoes," Miroku reasoned. "You're invading her life, made her sell her family home to pay you back a loan that was mere pocket change for you, and now you are demanding to marry her for an unknown reason that you claim is so life threatening that if she _doesn't_ marry you, the Higurashi name will be wiped from the earth completely."

 _If only you knew half of the story_. "Thank you for telling me what I already know." Inuyasha poured himself whiskey on the rocks. He needed to stop thinking about the size of the balls Kagome must've had to slap probably _the_ most dangerous man she would ever meet. "Now tell me what I _need_ to know to rectify this. That is why I hired you both."

Kouga rolled his eyes. "I was hired to eliminate threats. You hired Miroku for the brain work."

Miroku rubbed his temples. "Couldn't you just marry—"

"Kagome." Inuyasha's eyes flashed. "I _will_ marry Kagome even if it's by fucking force."

"We all saw where force got you the last time."

"I swear on your unborn goddamn children, Kouga," Inuyasha bellowed, standing up. He was beginning to see red he was so angry. "One more word out of your mouth and Miroku's gonna have to clean up your brain splattered on my wall!"

Kouga zipped the proverbial zipper over his mouth. He knew what Inuyasha was capable of, even if what he said was probably an empty threat. The man was known to put money where his mouth was…

"I think you should do what she intended for you to do to begin with." Miroku started slowly. "Court… her…" He said the last two words _very_ slowly, watching Inuyasha's emotions play on his face. Kouga was waiting with bated breath, wanting to see what Inuyasha did to Miroku for making such a blasphemous suggestion. A clock ticked in the distance…

 _Tick_

 _Tock_

 _Tick_

 _Tock_

"How do you propose I do that?" Inuyasha said slowly. "She won't even answer my phone calls…"

It was true, he called three times and she sent it all to voicemail. Being ignored by a woman was a first for Inuyasha and he wasn't sure he liked it much.

 _.xx._

 _Jackass to the power of infinity calling_

Kagome pressed ignore.

 _Jackass to the power of infinity calling_

Kagome pressed ignore again.

 _Jackass to—_

"For the love of." She pressed ignore and went ahead to block his number. Finally, _peace and quiet_.

 _.xx._

"Show her you care. Even if you don't." Miroku tagged that last bit on as an afterthought. Inuyasha poured himself another glass of whiskey.

"Whatever gave you the impression I don't?" Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "I'm marrying the wench _because_ I care."

Kouga wanted to throttle his boss but decided the brains being blasted out of his head was not worth it. He could be a lethal hit man, but when it came to his boss Kouga was at a loss of what to do. He was a master of mind games, an assassin in the night… but Inuyasha was always one step better than him.

"Maybe you should tell—"

"I feel like a broken record. I can't, won't, and refuse to tell her." Inuyasha's tone held a note of finality. "No room for arguments." His cell phone rang and he saw it was Hakkaku, Ginta's twin brother and his IT expert in his underground ring of infamy.

"Takahahshi."

"Managed to hack Sweden's central banks."

"Good."

"It's been wired to Thailand and being rerouted through Hong Kong before coming here."

Inuyasha nodded. "Good. Do we have the cargo ships on route to New York?"

"Yep."

"Excellent. Bye."

Inuyasha shoved his phone back in his pocket and didn't disclose the details of his conversation to his wingmen. Sure he trusted him a lot, but not enough… not _nearly_ enough. _Although I think I'll use Kouga's infatuation with Genevieve to my advantage…_ Always thinking like a business man, even when he wasn't formally working.

"What were you saying?" He looked over at Miroku.

His wingman shrugged. "Buy her flowers? Make her feel special? Apologize?"

 _Apologize?_ The corner of his lips tugged. He had never apologized to anybody. The last time he uttered the word _sorry_ , it was to his mother while she was on his deathbed. He was apologizing for failing as son…

"If marrying her is so important, as you claim, then swallowing your pride and apologizing for stepping out of bound should not be difficult." Miroku picked up his phone, which began ringing half way through his sentence. It was his girlfriend.

"Hey babe, in a meeting with Kouga and Inuyasha. Give me ten minutes? Okay sounds good. Bye."

Miroku stood up. "If we're done here, gentlemen, I have an important meeting to attend to with Nazuna. Think about what I said, boss."

Inuyasha didn't react and Miroku took the chance to leave. Kouga stared at Inuyasha for a minute longer before standing up and dusting off his pants. "I agree with the lecher." He began. "If marrying her is so important, you have to show her just how important she is. Clearly demanding her to do things won't work, you might need a subtle approach."

Inuyasha was never good with subtle.

Kouga took his leave and Inuyasha stared at the cackling fireplace in his office for an untracked amount of time. Finally, coming to a conclusion in his mind, he stood up and walked over to his office phone. He could tell Kagome blocked his cell number; it kept going to voicemail, so he would have to take an alternative approach. He pulled her number from his phone and punched it in to the dialling pad.

Her phone rang three times before she answered.

"Hello?"

"We need to talk."

 _.xx._

 **Hi :)** **Tell me what you think! I'm beginning to enjoy where this story is headed hehe… *whispers* long review!**


	10. To Make Plans with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Make Plans with the Devil_

The anger that Kagome felt was something unlike anything she had ever felt before. What _balls_ did the man have to call her after she _clearly_ was ignoring him on a number she didn't recognize? She didn't care if he needed to talk, if it was a matter of life or death, or if he wanted to apologize for being a dumbfuck. A jackass dumbfuck to the power of infinity times _infinity_!

 _New caller ID name._

"No, we don't." And Kagome hung up, blocking his number before he could attempt to call back. What was he going to do if she didn't give him the time of day? Show up at her door?

Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

 _Yeah right._

 _.xx._

Kagome's eye twitched while she opened the door to her shrine. 'Lo and behold, the object of her nightmares was standing at the foot of her doorstep dressed impeccably – as per usual—in a midnight blue suit and grey dress shirt. A partially undid blue tie with little anchors over it rested around his neck, but apart from that slight imperfection, he looked as if he just groomed himself to be presented in front of Kagome.

"Leave me alone."

She tried to slide the door shut but he was quick to intercept her with his leg. "Ten minutes is all I need."

"That's ten minutes more than I'm gonna give you."

"Aren't you the least bit curious about why I want to marry you?"

She was.

"No, I'm not."

"Even after you've paid back my loan?"

She was very curious.

"Maybe because you're a twisted fucking individual?"

Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk. "Careful, sweetheart."

"I told you _never to call me_ _anything other than Higurashi_."

"Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and effortlessly pushed the shrine door open and strolled in, as if he owned the place. Kagome seethed and clenched her fist. Her eyes flickered to his hip where she saw the bump of his holster, _okay so if he wasn't armed and dangerous, I would've kicked his ass straight out of my house_. She followed him, stomping with every step she took. Sango wasn't home, she was at a prenatal yoga class, Souta and her father weren't home, and neither was gramps. _Of all the days, **today** is the day I'm home alone. Great. Just fucking great. He's going to kill me for my "brazen",_ she mentally made air quotation marks, _attitude._

"It's quaint here."

"My old house was quaint _er_." She spat with unhidden disgust. Inuyasha exhaled loudly and turned around, his eyes hard and his expression serious.

"You need to—no…" He was fishing for words. How the hell did Inuyasha Takahashi, _sole_ ruler of Japan's underworld and self-made billionaire, at a loss for words in front of a single, defenseless, high-strung _woman_?!

"I need—you—"

Kagome scowled. "You want me to marry you because…?" She knew that was where he was heading. Call it the female intuition.

He was almost thankful for her choice of words. "Because if you don't, there are people in this world who _will_ kill you."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Oh gee, thanks for a cliché romcom plot, Takahashi. Marry you or face impending doom. You have successfully wasted my time, you may leave now."

"God dammit woman," two strides and he was in front of her, grabbing by the shoulders and giving her a firm yet gentle shake. "Let me speak. Sit. Listen." His eyes flickered to the couch but Kagome made no move to sit down.

"You speak, I'll listen however I want, wherever I want, sitting, standing, or doing the hokey-goddamn-pokey!"

Inuyasha struggled _very_ hard not to laugh; he would've if it weren't for the situation. Despite wanting to be firm and strong, Kagome made no sense when she was riled up.

"When did your mother pass away?"

That caught Kagome's attention really quickly. "My… why do you want to know? You probably _already_ know."

Inuyasha's face was stony. "Yes. I do know. Now answer my question, when did Korari pass away?"

Kagome's insides trembled. What was he going on about? Why did he want to know about her mother and how did he know her name? _His extensive research maybe?_ Despite trying to defy Inuyasha's orders, Kagome did, in fact, need to sit down. Wordlessly he followed, sitting down beside her. He was close enough that their knees were touching and Kagome could smell the underlying musk of cologne and _male_.

"Ten years ago." She answered her voice tight and her throat constricted.

Inuyasha studied her, his eyes flickering from her one orb to the other. "Ever since then _you_ have been in danger. Not your father and not your brother. _You_ have been. Our cards were played right and I was able to find you, unharmed, and now require marrying you to keep you safe."

Kagome frowned. "Your story makes _no_ sense."

"I can't go in to detail. Not yet, at least." He wasn't lying. He couldn't.

"You can't drop such a bomb on me and then say you can't tell me the whole story!" Kagome was vehement; he was upsetting her by being so cryptic. Why should she believe him? "And besides," she was voicing her latter thought. "Why _should_ I believe you?"

Inuyasha anticipated that and pulled a folded piece of paper out from inside of his blazer. "Here."

Kagome looked at him and down at the piece of paper – _a letter?_ —before taking it hesitantly. She unfolded the letter and, without missing a beat, tears sprung to her eyes. It was her mother's handwriting; she knew by the way her mother dotted her _i_ 's… It was a letter her mother wrote to… Inuyasha?

 _Dearest Inuyasha,_

 _Thank you for all that you have done. It is upsetting that everything that you and your family have done for me wasn't enough. I leave knowing that as long as you're around, my baby girl will be safe. Please make sure you care for her and protect her as much as you and your brother have done for me. I love you and Sesshomaru as if you were my own sons._

 _Please don't ever tell Akira, Kagome, and Souta what happened._

 _With all my heart,_

 _Aunt Korari_

Kagome was trembling and was not aware that Inuyasha's arm had wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her against his firm chest. She dropped the letter and stared blankly at the palms of her hands. "Wha-what happened to her…?"

Inuyasha brought his other arm around and pulled her directly in to his chest, crushing her in a hug. "I can't…"

"Tell me." Her voice was shaky, disobeying the stern tone she wanted to use. "What… happened to… mama?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes; remembering the day Kagome's mother died, vividly. But he swore… he swore to Korari on her deathbed that he would not let any of the Higurashis know what transpired the day she died until he and his brother, Sesshomaru, were absolutely certain that the Higurashis, particularly Kagome, would be safe from any harm.

"I promised her I wouldn't tell." He tried to keep his voice level and not bossy. He needed Kagome to trust him and what he provided was the little piece of the truth he was willing for her to see.

Although Kagome heard him, she wasn't listening. "Why did she say… Auntie? Did you know my mother?" She pushed herself out of his chest and gripped the collar of his shirt. "Did you know my mother?!" She shook him, rather violently. Her tears began streaming faster down her cheeks. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MOTHER?!"

Inuyasha covered her hands with his own hands but said nothing. He wasn't used to saying or doing nothing, but with Kagome he threw all his rules and customs out the window. Kagome was a different kind of exception. Kagome beat his chest and in an effort to help calm her he gripped her wrists and pulled her in to his chest again.

"What happened to my mother?" She sobbed against him, wetting his shirt.

"Will you trust me now?" His voice was hardly audible, just above a whisper.

"No." She tried to pull away but his hold was too strong. "Let me go! I demand answers!"

Inuyasha did pull back, but just enough to look down at her. His arms were still wrapped around her torso. "I know. I can appreciate you wanting answers. My mother and father are deceased, too, and I can empathize with you." Kagome's eyes were beginning to widen. "But trust that I cannot tell you yet the details of that night. All I need you to know is that I'm here because of your mother's dying wish and I need you to marry me."

"Leave." She murmured and, in a heartbeat, he dropped his hold on her.

"Leave. Leave my shrine, leave my property, and leave me _alone_."

Nodding, he stood up. He picked the letter up off the floor and tucked it back in to his pocket. "I'm only a call away." He offered before leaving, quite reluctantly. He had taken Miroku and Kouga's advice to heart and he was hoping he hadn't royally fucked up.

There was no way he was going to break his promise to his mother's best friend, stubborn Kagome or not.

 _.xx._

It was past midnight.

Inuyasha was staring in to the eyes of a double-crosser; a man that took Miroku and Kouga weeks to locate. They were in the basement of one of Inuyasha's many warehouses; the man was tearing up, his body battered and bruised from the many beatings he had to endure thanks to Inuyasha's plethora of followers.

But now he was facing the devil, himself.

"You were passing information to Naraku?" Inuyasha sounded dangerous. He sounded almost inhuman. Standing off to the side were fifteen of his men, including Kouga and Miroku. Inuyasha was still in the blue dress pants he wore to Kagome's place, but he had discarded his blazer and dress shirt and remained in his white undershirt.

"Sir—he… he…"

"No excuses." Inuyasha was lethal. "Just answers. Did you, or did you not, pass information to Naraku."

"I did—" He didn't get to finish his sentence. Inuyasha put a bullet through his forehead.

"Let this be a lesson to anybody who wants to double cross me."

Kouga and Miroku glanced at each other and proceeded to follow Inuyasha out of the warehouse. Kouga didn't spare the corpse a kick to the gut as he walked past him.

 _Fucking traitor._

 _.xx._

It was a half past two in the morning. Inuyasha stepped out of the shower and stood in front of the full length mirror in his bathroom, clad in a towel. He studied himself, the nicks and bruises that told stories of all the fights he'd been in. Inuyasha gently ran a finger over his scar before tearing himself away from the mirror.

"Sleep." He mumbled, grabbing his gun off of the bathroom counter and dragging his feet to his king sized feather mattress. Tossing the towel haphazardly on to the armchair in his room, Inuyasha climbed in to his bed naked as the day he was born.

He always slept naked.

Clothes were too restrictive.

Fatigue rocked Inuyasha's body and his eyes were slowly lidding shut—he didn't bother covering himself with a blanket, _too much restriction_. Just as his eyes fully shut, the ringing of his phone brought him back to reality.

"For the love of—" He grabbed the phone off of his nightstand and answered, keeping his eyes shut the entire time.

"I swear Kouga if there is no point to this call, I'm gonna—"

"Takahashi?"

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he was very aware of how quickly his heart started pounding. It couldn't be…

"Kagome?"

"Am I bothering you?"

 _It is!_

Inuyasha had to sit up. "Is everything okay?"

The guards he had posted around Kagome's shrine hadn't called him saying she was in danger. He secretly hoped she didn't find out that he had men watching her to ensure her safety… after her consistant negative reaction to everything he did (except the fiancée thing… he knew that was wrong, but he wouldn't undo it), he couldn't be surprised at her anger any longer.

"Yeah. Everything is good."

Silence…

"Kagome?"

"Can you come to my studio tomorrow? At the end of day?"

 _This is certainly progress._ "I can see if my schedule permits," he offered, knowing full well he couldn't make it. "Any reason?"

"I need to talk to you… about what happened today."

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome, I told you I can't say—"

"I know." She cut him off. "I know you can't say. But I have questions that I know you can answer, and for that you have to come to my studio after my last lesson."

Inuyasha cursed inwardly. He couldn't go, he had a prior engagement that required him to fly to Egypt at noon the following day. But he had made a breakthrough with Kagome and he couldn't… _wait a minute_.

"How many part timers do you have?"

Kagome's frown was obvious in her tone. "Why?"

"How many?"

"A few…"

"Can they cover your shifts for three days?"

"Before I answer, why?"

Inuyasha lay back down and rolled to his left side. "I have a business meeting in Egypt tomorrow so I can't come, _but_ , if you're willing, I can bring you along and you can enjoy a few days off?"

"Pardon me? Drop everything and fly to Egypt with you? I can't."

Although he wouldn't admit to it, he felt slightly disappointed. "Reasonable. Then I can meet with you later this week."

"Fine, I suppose."

He _really_ wished he could've met with her instead of flying to another continent. Alas, work was work and he couldn't change _that_ particular plan so last minute. He had vendors and associates waiting for him; the meeting had been planned months in advance.

"We can go for breakfast tomorrow instead." _Quick thinking_.

There was a pause but the words out of Kagome's mouth sent Inuyasha to the closest thing to cloud nine. "Sure. Can you pick me up seven?"

"I can. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah… good night?" She sounded hesitant and he didn't bother hiding his chuckle.

"Good night, Kagome."

Throwing his phone onto the pillow beside him, Inuyasha flopped on to his back.

 _Finally!_ He thought, almost excitedly. _Progress_.

 _.xx._

 **Hints of a past? Hmmm? Stay tuned!**

 **And remember the double crosser Inuyasha killed. He becomes an important guy later on :)**


	11. To Reason with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Reason with the Devil_

At seven in the morning, sharp, Inuyasha was parked outside of Kagome's shrine. He, for some reason, wanted to bring his motorcycle (which he had knighted Raijuu once upon a time). He was anticipating a shrieking response from Kagome and, for some ungodly reason; he was looking forward to it. Kagome was a firecracker and, although a tad bit annoying when all she did was get mad at him, she amused him.

That was a lot considering not many women were able to hold his attention for too long.

Punctual as ever, Kagome appeared at the top of the shrine steps at one minute past seven wearing a beautiful knee-length floral dress. She had her purse hanging off of her right shoulder and a gym bag on her left. As gentlemanly as ever, Inuyasha met her halfway up the steps.

"Good morning," he greeted while tugging the gym bag off of her shoulder. To his surprise, she didn't fight with him and allowed him to carry her gear.

"Morning—no Bugatti?"

Inuyasha smirked, for some reason pleased with himself. "No, but I brought the love of my life, Raijuu."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and looked over at the motorcycle propped up alongside the curb. It was beautiful, coloured black with red accents. It was something that should've been in a movie but, alas, Kagome was not at all surprised that Inuyasha owned the thing.

"Raijuu?" She managed to say as she and Inuyasha approached the motorcycle.

"Yeah." He did not, at all, sound embarrassed. "Are you okay with this?"

He was expecting her throw a fit, say something about how unsafe it was, say how crazy he was for owning a—

"Luckily I wore shorts under my dress. Are you okay to carry my gym bag for the ride?"

His eyes widened but he quickly recovered from his obvious shock. Kagome looked over at him and he could tell that she seemed somewhat… _excited_ to be riding his motorcycle. Of course, Inuyasha being a Takahashi-blooded man could not forgo the opportunity to tease her. Mobster or not, he took pride in his occasional sense of humour.

"Excited?"

Her eyes flashed and he was bracing himself for the oncoming verbal barrage…

"A little bit."

It was the second time in one minute that Inuyasha was hit with pleasant unexpectedness. He was getting anxious to take her to his favourite coffee shop and have their little chat. Something changed in her within the last twelve hours and Inuyasha was determined to find out what it was before he flew to Egypt.

 _.xx._

"That was _so much fun_!" Kagome didn't want to feel giddy, but she did. She had never ridden motorcycle before and she was glad the first time she did was with Inuyasha. She had slid on to the motorcycle and wrapped her arms around her torso. She was unsurprised to feel a taut abdominal with much defined muscles.

Inuyasha threw her a smirk and proceeded to open the door to the café, all while holding on to her gym bag. She tried to take it back from him, but he refused. Something along the lines of: It's a man's duty. Kagome rolled her eyes at him but let him have his moment; her gym bag was heavy anyway.

"Glad you liked it."

Kagome breezed past him through the open door and he followed close behind. She was very aware of how the heat permeated off of his body and penetrated her pores. The scent of him was overwhelming and she was trying to keep a clear mind. She needed it to be clear for what they were going to be having a chat about.

"Maybe I'll bring it around more often."

"Getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" She threw back at him as they searched for a place to sit. Eventually they managed to snag a corner booth-esqe seating arrangement made simply for two patrons. Kagome got comfortable in her seat and told Inuyasha her order while slipping money towards him. He simply glanced at the money on the table, snorted, turned, and walked off to order their breakfast.

Kagome was not surprised.

 _Keep calm. Just breathe, have your talk and… well… I'm so confused._

It didn't take Inuyasha too long to return. The tray he was carrying was weighted down by their two coffees but otherwise overflowing with pastries, and croissants, and so much more. Kagome picked up her coffee cup delicately and wiggled her butt a little to get comfortable. She waited for Inuyasha to settle in before she began to talk.

"Thanks for meeting with me."

He tilted his head slightly to the right. "No problem." He wasn't going to push; he wasn't going to say… Inuyasha decided that as this was her invitation, he would let her steer the wheel and take the conversation in any direction she chose to do so.

Kagome bit her lower lip and her shoulders sagged, just a tiny bit. It was enough for Inuyasha to notice, however. So he decided to push an apology through because he, in fact, did feel like a dick for showing her the letter her mother sent him before Korari passed away. Inuyasha hadn't intended to show her the letter but after all the pushback he had been receiving from her, and the advice and Miroku and Kouga had to offer, he decided to give her a little bit of information… enough to potentially help push her towards accepting his proposal and marrying him.

"I'm sorry for how I handled the situation yesterday."

Kagome's eyes snapped up and locked with his. "Pardon?"

"I apologize for yesterday. I just need for you to understand how imperative it is for you to trust me and using your mother's death was definitely not the right way to do it, but that is the reason why it has to be done." He was studying her as he spoke, trying to see how she reacted, how her face contoured, if she was angry, understanding, confused…

"I get it." She mumbled. "I've been difficult with you but you need to understand that everything was thrown at me and my brother so suddenly. Within a week we find out my father borrowed a substantial loan from you and was unable to pay it off and, as a result, I have to marry you." Kagome sipped her coffee. "If I had known my options were marry you or marry you, I'd have never have sold my home."

"Perhaps selling it was meant to happen?" Inuyasha offered, biting in to a strawberry Danish. "Everything happens for a reason, Kagome." He threw the ball back to her court.

"Regardless, you can appreciate that everything was kind of thrown at me and I was expected to make a decision that not only impacted me, but my younger brother, my father, and my best friend—"

At that, Inuyasha had to interrupt.

"Speaking of Sango, nowhere in my research did I figure out why she's living with you, how she got pregnant and where the father is."

Kagome bit her lower lip. She didn't want to disclose such personal details about her best friend, elite murderous mobster or not. "She well… she needed help and my family was there to support her. The father left when he found out she was pregnant." That was all Kagome was willing to say. She wasn't going to disclose that Kuranosuke Takeda, her boyfriend of three years, took advantage of her and uprooted, leaving the country altogether. She wasn't going to disclose that Sango had nowhere to go, nobody to go to, and no family to lean on. Her mother and father had passed on and her brother was abroad for studies.

That was Sango's story to tell.

Inuyasha took the hint and dropped the subject. "Go on." He urged her to continue her story.

"Yeah… so I was expected to make a decision that would affect everybody. And on top of that you come out of nowhere demanding that I marry you, no ifs ands or buts about it… and that resulted in me selling—" her voice cracked and Inuyasha felt like a douchbag. He hadn't really looked at it from her point of view. "In me selling the only place that I had tangible memories of my mother. And despite all of that, my father never discovered a mermaid and I still have to marry you."

Kagome had to stop talking otherwise she would surely burst in to tears. Inuyasha remained quiet—this was Kagome's moment, not his. She had to get everything off of her chest, not him.

"Was the loan thing a ploy that you and Daddy concocted to have you meet me and go through this whole marriage thing?"

Her question caught him off guard and he ended up laughing. Not because he was stupefied, but because her suggestion was so _possible_ that it actually did not happen.

"I wish that was the reason," Inuyasha ended up saying. "But no, Akira really thought he had a lead on mermaid remains and when the banks weren't extending a loan to him, he reached out to my people. When I caught wind that Akira Higurashi was seeking out a loan, I formulated a plan…" Inuyasha sipped his coffee. "I knew he wouldn't be able to pay me back, and I damn well knew mermaids don't exist, so I used the situation to my advantage to meet you."

Kagome felt like she should be angry, but she wasn't. He was merely doing something he was told to do…

"How did you know my mother?"

"I can't speak about that." He said regretfully. "Anything to do with your mother I can't tell you until we've been married, for at least a year, and the danger that's present is gone. Only _then_ can I tell you, your brother, and your father _everything_."

Kagome frowned. "A year?"

"There are things that need to be taken care of after the wedding to ensure your safety." Was all Inuyasha was willing to say. "And like I said before, this isn't a temporary arrangement. This is a lifetime commitment and I know how shitty it sounds—you women have your fantasies about fancy weddings complete with pomp and circumstance to the man you love and you're being stripped of that but…" Inuyasha was looking for the right thing to say. "But I can give you everything and anything you want. You want a big wedding? Done… You want to take our honeymoon trip," she blushed at that with eyes widening, "to Bora Bora? Done. Whatever you want, I will give you plus so much more. We can learn to like each other." He hoped that his pitch was good. He was able to convince anybody under the sun to do anything, but he couldn't get through to Kagome.

Kagome bit her lower lip. "And I'll be safe?" _Was she considering it?!_ His heart began racing. "From whatever it is that apparently killed my mother and… your world?"

His world? Oh yeah… _his_ world. Inuyasha nodded. "You have my word. You may think you know what my world is about… but you have _no_ idea and I do intend for you never to find out."

 _Well that isn't scary as hell._ Kagome's thought was dripping with sarcasm.

"I do have trouble trusting you." She revealed.

"Understandably so." Inuyasha managed to interject.

Kagome continued speaking as if he didn't butt in. "But then I begin to wonder why you would _need_ to marry me and not any other girl? You probably have women falling at your feet."

He did. Always. But ever since he made the promise to Korari Higurashi that he would protect Kagome from any harm, he had never been with a woman.

It was his personal choice.

"I do," he didn't want to lie to her. "And you are right. Why you? Why go through the trouble of courting you and convincing you to marry me when I could have anybody." He saw the gears turning in her head and he knew that she was slowly starting to understand what he was saying. "And my only mistake was that I should've been honest with you from the beginning instead of playing mind games with you. I assure you that that will never happen again. As my wife you are my equal, my company is your company, my house is your house, my money is your money. The only thing you will not have control over is—"

"Is your gang related stuff." She finished for him and he nodded.

"You will live a normal life, you'll never know about anything that's happening in the underworld, and nobody in the underworld will ever know how to reach you." _Please believe me._

"And you'll tell me about Mama…"

"On our first year anniversary." He assured.

Kagome nodded, very slowly. She had been up all night talking to Kikyo and Sango about what she was going to do…

 _.xx._

 _"He showed you a letter that Auntie Ko gave him?!" Kikyo said, disbelievingly. Kikyo's mother and Kagome's mother were twin sisters. Kikyo's mother lived in Taiwan with her second husband and visited every so often, especially to see Kagome and Souta. "How the hell did he know her?"_

 _Kagome shrugged, rubbing her puffy eyes. It was one in the morning and the three girls were still discussing the who, what, where, when, why, and hows of the situation. They had, so far, agreed that Inuyasha probably wasn't lying because he was going through a whole heck of a lot of effort to convince Kagome to marry him. They also agreed that the letter was probably legit, seeing as the details of Korari's death from a decade ago were wonky and the girls knew that the case was closed prematurely._

 _Sango told Kagome to maintain her attitude but Kikyo was quick to argue and say that Kagome had been a bitch for long enough and she had to give him a chance. He had the patience of the Gods and Kagome couldn't constantly push him away like how she had been doing. She could be firm and show him that she wouldn't bend over backwards for him – or anybody—but she shouldn't be so mean._

 _Kagome had burst in to another round of hot fresh tears._

 _"What are you thinking?" Sango whispered._

 _"I… don't know…"_

 _Kikyo knew her cousin. "You're going to accept his proposal, aren't you?"_

 _Kagome was shaking. "I don't know yet."_

 _"A part of you believes him, doesn't it?" Sango murmured and Kagome nodded, slowly._

 _"I do. What he says makes sense to me… the whole danger thing, I don't know… but do I want to risk it?"_

 _"You're risking it by marrying the lord of the kingpins." Sango added._

 _Kikyo punched Kagome's pillow. "This is bullshit. He won't let you_ not _marry him, and he's gonna drag you do the altar kicking and screaming… you might as well accept his proposal and lay down your own terms versus being forced to do it and not have any say in the matter."_

 _"You make sense." Kagome bit her lip and Sango nodded, agreeing with Kagome's statement._

 _"Whatever you do, Kagome, you always have us around." Sango ran her fingers through Kagome's hair. "I just wish all of this happened in a… less crappy sorta way, you know? There goes the fantastical wedding we've always wanted to throw for each other."_

 _Kagome hiccupped and buried her head in her hands. "I think I know what to do…"_

 _.xx._

"So um…" Kagome was fidgeting and Inuyasha studied her. She was _extremely_ beautiful…

"Will we… you know… um…"

"Kids tend to be the result of a prosperous marriage, Kagome." Inuyasha grinned toothily. Her discomfort amused him to no ends. The blush that covered her cheeks was priceless.

"But I give you my word that until you're comfortable, we will not have to do anything."

That seemed to calm her. A little bit.

"Oh… kay…"

There was silence. The gentle buzz of the background noise hummed in Inuyasha's eardrums. He wanted to reach over and run his fingers down her milky white skin, to assure her that he would do everything in his power to protect her and her family from whatever harm that could befall them. Korari Higurashi was the closest thing his mother had to a sister and Inuyasha grew up loving the woman as if she was his _own_ mother…

So he'd be damned if anything happened to her daughter.

"I was able to get Yura and Souta to figure out my shifts for the next few days." She began slowly and Inuyasha frowned, slightly confused.

"Alright?"

"So um… I can come with you to Egypt and I expect a proper proposal."

 _No. Fucking. Way_.

Inuyasha slowly put his hands on the table. "Are you…"

Kagome shrugged, looking everywhere except at him. "You won't know until you ask me to marry you the _right_ way."

It took everything in his power to not lean over and kiss her.

 _.xx._

 **SAY WAAAHHH?!**


	12. To Fly with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Fly with the Devil_

"So…" Kagome started slowly as she towed behind Inuyasha in the airport. "What's in Egypt?"

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder. "Like I said, vendors and partners… of the sort."

"Legal or illegal?"

It was then that Inuyasha knew that her inquiry of anything being _legal or illegal_ was going to be recurring during the course of the marriage. And, speaking of marriage, Inuyasha then realized just how heavy the generational family heirloom engagement ring felt in his pocket. Just because he was marrying her out of duty did not mean that she would be stripped of her right as the first Takahashi bride.

 _Take that, Sesshomaru_.

"Day one, illegal." No point in lying to her. She could know _how_ he made his money, she just didn't need to know who and what he was involved with. "Day two, legal."

"And day three?"

It was then he slowed down to allow her to catch up. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder which Kagome was quick to shrug off, followed by a glare that clearly said _watch it, buddy_. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Day three we sightsee and you need to get used to me holding you."

"No, I don't. Can we go to the Temple of Ra?"

Inuyasha passed their boarding passes to the gate agent while simultaneously telling Kagome that the Temple of Ra did not exist.

"It does, I saw on the history network that the lost Temple of Ra was located."

"You were probably watching Indiana Jones," Inuyasha couldn't help but snort. "But there is a plethora of other temples that we may visit, _that actually exist_ ; Luxor, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Amun-Re, Dendur, and Kalabsha… to name a few."

Kagome didn't appreciate the tone he took with her. "Well quit being a jackass about it. I was referring to the Temple of _Amun-Re_." She stressed the ancient name of the Egyptian Temple. "Honestly, you're such a—"

"Careful." He cut her off. His annoyance was rising and he did not want to be held responsible for spewing curses at his soon-to-be-fiancée in the middle of a goddamn airport. All the woman had to do was board the damn airplane, drink champagne, munch on some cashews, and call it a day. But no, she had to ask _questions._

"I thought you had a private jet?"

He noted her change of topic and was silently thankful. "I do. But I leant it to a friend."

"Which friend?"

"You wouldn't know him."

Kagome paused. "… legal or illegal friend?"

Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh. His annoyance from moments prior was beginning to dissipate and he was half wondering how the woman was capable of such a feat. Typically when he was annoyed well… he tended to remain annoyed for the remainder of the day. _Voodoo._ His only explanation.

"Illegal friend, if you must know."

"I must." Came her snarky response before she stepped onto the airplane and handed her boarding pass stub to the flight attendant. After locating their seats, Kagome quickly snagged the window seat and left Inuyasha to stash his carryon into the overhead compartment. Lucky for her all she had was her gym bag with three outfit changes and a nice black dress (complete with two pairs of flip flops and heels). Sango had insisted the dress needed to be packed, _just in case_.

"You were quick to book two seats." She observed.

Inuyasha shrugged, sliding in to the seat beside her. They were in business first class – Inuyasha travelled no other way when he wasn't taking his private plane – and he could tell she was slightly in awe. "The other seat was booked for one of my men but we changed the booking last minute."

Horrified, Kagome's head snapped over at him. "Did I—"

"No." He was quick to cut her off. She was as readable as an open book and, for some reason that worried Inuyasha. Keeping a poker face was necessary in his world and although he didn't intend for her to get involved in his underworld life, he couldn't very well let her be as transparent as a window. "Juromaru is catching the next flight with his brother."

"… legal or—"

"Illegal. Most of what I do is illegal."

Kagome nodded while biting her cheek. "Alright then." And at that moment Inuyasha knew she was disengaged. Inwardly he cursed; all he wanted to do was have her trust him so that they could be at least amicable with one another. But he felt as if the more he did, the more he told her, the more _un_ trusting she became. The only _win_ that he had in the lose-lose situation was that he had managed to have her trust him enough to agree to marry him – _I have to court and propose to her while in Egypt_ –, but everything else he did was moving him one space back.

 _Why the fuck is this so hard._ He rubbed his face and flagged the flight attendant down to grab him a bottle of beer. Inuyasha felt Kagome shift slightly and idly looked over to see her pull a book out of her purse.

He managed to glance at the title.

 _Ten Steps to a Successful Marriage with a Man You Don't Love_  
By: Yoko Nagasaki

It was taking all of Inuyasha's willpower not to snort out loud and roll his eyes dramatically. Was she for _real_?! Who the hell did something like that? _A book… she's getting advice from a book._

"Is there a chapter on marrying a mob lord?"

Kagome cocked her eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at him. "Sure. Chapter 3, marrying a dangerous sonofa because somebody is out to murder you… or something."

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"No, really…" Kagome flipped the book over to Inuyasha who read the title disbelievingly.

 _Chapter 3_

 _Marrying a Dangerous Sonofa***** because Somebody is Out to Murder You (or something)_

"This woman is fucking psycho." Inuyasha muttered under his breath, referring to the author. He was glad his beer was delivered just at that moment because he took a long, hard swig to get his mind off of the dumb book Kagome was choosing to read. "The fact you hunted that book down doesn't surprise me at the least, Kagome."

"It's still Higurashi to you." Kagome chided. "I haven't formally accepted your proposal and you are still courting me."

"Courting requires a sense of familiarity."

Kagome gently shut the book and turned her body to face him. "Yes, it does. A sense of familiarity that we do not have yet, so I suggest you think of something to familiarize ourselves with each other and _then_ we can talk about you calling me by my first name, okay?" Her adrenaline was pumping and she could see the gears turning in his head, coupled with the vein popped on his left temple and the twitch in his left eye. She knew she was pushing the _wrong_ buttons.

"You will regret daring me like this, _Kagome_." He drawled her name, as if to make a point.

She didn't care. Yeah, his presence and the knowledge of what he was capable of frightened her slightly… and the fact that his enemies could potentially find her, maim her, and mail her back to him in a cardboard box scared the living shit out of her, but she knew he was harmless. He made it clear that his sole intention was to protect her so the last person on earth that would hurt her… was Inuyasha.

And that meant she could say whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to, and however she wanted to say it.

 _Power tastes good_.

"It isn't a dare, _Takahashi_." She made it a point to say his last name with disdain. "It's common sense. We have three days in Egypt and if you can't court me properly _and_ successfully ask me to marry you… then you have your work cut out for you in Japan."

There was a twinkle in his eyes and Kagome, somehow, knew she didn't have the upper hand anymore. "Fine," the words tumbled from his lips. "This ' _common sense_ ' challenge of yours is accepted. In these three days I will show you things that _no_ other man has shown you before, and you will accept my proposal with no hostility, no attitude, and no sarcasm." Her eyes widened drastically. He took the opportunity to lean forward to his lips were just a breath away from her ear.

"Because remember. I want to marry you… and I _always_ get what I want."

"Not want," Kagome couldn't even control herself speaking. Her mind was saying _shut up_ , but something else in her made her talk. "You _need_ to marry me."

His lips didn't move from beside her ear. Inuyasha's hot breath tickled her neck and sent a shiver running up her spine. "Indeed, but can't a man _want_ and _need_ the same thing?"

Kagome's mind went fuzzy and she was, for once, at a loss of words. Deciding that she was going to accept defeat honourably, Kagome simply turned away from him and picked her book up once again. She heard him chuckle and call the flight attendant for another beer.

 _It's going to be a long flight._

 _.xx._

It was only four hours in to the flight and Kagome was getting incredibly bored. She finished her book and watched a movie before going back to _reread_ some chapters in her book. Inuyasha was on his laptop the entire time looking at spreadsheets and emails (he purchased the onboard WiFi access), and other business related things.

Kagome was tempted to start a conversation with him and, not surprising herself, she gave in to temptation.

"So uh… what… illegal stuff do you do?"

Inuyasha didn't look away from his computer but she did see him raise an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to involve yourself with such insignificant details."

 _Yeah, I don't. But I'll be married to your dumb ass and—_

"Remember, I know what you're thinking."

"Right, right," she did nothing to hide the sarcasm. "You're a mind reader. I keep forgetting… so what do you do?"

Inuyasha looked away from his laptop and studied Kagome for a thorough minute. She seemed genuinely curious but he wasn't about to tell her anything. "Do you think I'm going in to details of such things on a public airplane?"

 _True…_ Kagome hadn't thought of that.

"Alright then… apart from Shikon, what else do you do?" She was opting for the legal side of things.

Inuyasha's lip twitched in amusement. "You're bored, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Her sheepish tone made her unbelievably cute. Inuyasha shut his laptop and crossed his arms. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up and the top two buttons were undone. He looked like a business tycoon, from a sappy romcom Kagome once saw, coming home after a long day of business tycoon-y type of work

"You're putting forth an effort to have a conversation with me so yeah, I would say it's obvious."

Kagome bit her lip. "I'm not a jerk."

"Could've fooled me. You've already shed light on why you were so reclusive before which is understandable, but you have to start letting me in or else _both_ of us will be seriously unhappy in this marriage." Inuyasha nodded his head towards her book. "Or did Yoko not teach you that lesson?"

Kagome giggled. He made a joke, albeit a stupid one, but he did nonetheless and it made her laugh. "No, she didn't." Kagome's shoulders sagged. "I'm not good at this."

"Which part?"

"The whole _your life is in danger so marry me but I'm actually a super dangerous mob lord and my name alone can get you killed_ thing."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and licked his lower lip. "My name will _not_ get you—"

The incredulous look Kagome gave him shut him up right away and he retracted his statement. "Okay so it might, but I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to you."

That was the entire purpose of marrying him.

"Do I have to take your name?"

"Yes," Inuyasha was quick to respond. That was something he was not willing to negotiate. "You do."

Kagome tried not to snap at him for being bossy. Perhaps he had a perfectly valid reason as to why he wanted her to change her name but was being secretive of the reason. It wouldn't be a first, in Kagome's experience "What if I don't want to?"

He noted her amicable attitude. "I just do. From as far back as I can trace all women who marry in to the Takahashi bloodline have changed their name. It's a mentality thing for our children too—we come from a strong lineage, elite warlords in Feudal Japan and whatnot and we would prefer not to hyphenate their surnames."

"Why does it not surprise me your ancestors were warlords." Kagome muttered. "With you being a mob lord…"

"And your family tree is full of priests and priestesses." Inuyasha was quick to say. "One of your great great great great great grandmothers, Kikyo – your cousin's namesake—was said to have sealed a pesky half demon to that tree in your shrine's backyard."

"Extensive research?"

Inuyasha chuckled. " _Very_ extensive."

The flight encountered some turbulence but nothing that was about to distract Kagome and Inuyasha from their friendly banter.

"What else do you know?"

She was challenging him.

"You mean from my extensive research?"

Kagome nodded. She took off her shoes and crossed them onto her seat. _Might as well get comfortable_. "Yes, from your extensive research."

"Well," Inuyasha tapped his chin in feign thought. "You were part of the cycling club all through high school and was top in your school, as well as archery. You have a mean left hook, a birthmark on one of your butt cheek—" she raised both eyebrows at that one but he made no effort to divulge, "and you're saving yourself for marriage."

Needless to say Kagome was shocked _and_ impressed.

"Your illegal methods have basically covered it all."

Inuyasha pretended to brush off invisible dust on his shoulder. "It has, but it only gives me facts. I don't know the _whys_ … like why are you saving yourself for marriage?"

Kagome shrugged, rather nonchalantly. "I was saving it for the man I love but… well… that's moot now, isn't it?"

For some reason he felt guilty. He felt guilty for robbing her of such innocuous hopes and dreams, but it wasn't his fault. Inuyasha was fulfilling a promise he made to her mother years ago to protect her from an outstanding danger. Girlish dreams and innocent hopes regardless.

 _I guess I'll just have to give her everything she's ever wanted… marriage of convenience or not_. At that moment, Inuyasha made a vow.

And he was a man that never went back on his word.

"Your turn," she grinned. "You know everything about me but I have no idea about you… other than you're scary and carry a gun all the time."

"Protection." He offered. "But shoot, ball is in your court."

Kagome was, dare she say it? Excited.

"How old are you?"

Inuyasha was stumped. "That's so basic…"

"So? I need to know how old you are."

"Haven't you googled me?"

"I usually don't google jerks who try to have me declare bankruptcy, now answer the question Mob Lord, how old are you?"

Inuyasha had an inkling that the stupid pet name she spewed out was going to stick.

"Thirty two."

"And your favourite food?"

"What the—"

"Favourite food." Kagome _repeated_ , sterner.

"How does this help us in _any_ way?" He saw the look she shot him and decided to stop arguing. "Fine. Ramen."

She wasn't expecting that answer. "Ramen? That's not food."

"It is. It's comprised of the four basic food groups."

Kagome slapped her head. "My word. Fine, whatever you say. Ummm… when did you lose your virginity?"

"What type of fucking questions are these?!" Inuyasha glowered at her. "This _is not relevant_ to our relationship."

"Yeah well, you know all the answers to _irrelevant_ questions regarding _my_ life, so now it's time to return the favour."

Inuyasha was cornered. She was right and he was half contemplating having her on his Board of Directors to push certain deals through. She was feisty, had a mean temper, and evidently got what _she_ wanted… most of the time.

"Fine," his voice was quiet. He couldn't believe he was going to tell her the damn story… _Nobody_ knew the damn story!

"I was fourteen…"

Kagome smirked. "Fourteen? Quick, weren't you?"

"Shut up!"

 _Ohhh, I struck a chord!_ "What happened?" She egged and he had to look away from her.

"We did it in the gym change room because our buddies dared us, okay?!"

Kagome gawked. Well, that was unexpected… "And then?"

Inuyasha, for some reason, was turning red from embarrassment. "The gym teacher walked in and well… we were both suspended for a month."

And for the rest of the plane ride all Kagome did was laugh, repeat the story… and laugh some more. Inuyasha had angrily turned his laptop back on and did _anything_ that didn't require him to pay attention to the laughing woman beside him. _Fucking wench. Fine. Laugh. See if I give a flying fuck_.

It was definitely going to be a long flight.

 _.xx._


	13. To Vacation with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To_ _Vacation with the Devil_

Kagome managed to sleep for the better portion of the flight. Inuyasha had to gently shake her awake just before the plane landed in Cairo International Airport. The intercom buzzed to life and the flight attendant indicated in English and Arabic that they were beginning their decent in to Egypt, etc. etc. etc.

With a flutter, Kagome opened her eyes and looked around for a few moments before realizing she was on a plane with Inuyasha, flying to Egypt. She released a jaw-splitting yawn and drank half her bottle of water before she was able to function like a normal human being. To all of that, Inuyasha was amused.

"Slept well?"

She nodded. "Plane sleep is quite refreshing."

"Especially in first class seating?"

Not being able to fight it, Kagome grinned stupidly. " _Especially_ in first class seating."

Inuyasha, despite their situation, couldn't help but feel smug. He had done something that impressed Kagome to the point where she subtly complimented him. It was one for the books…

The duo disembarked the airplane and was welcomed by humid and hot air. Their flight had to land on the tarmac and they were to follow a marked path in to the terminal—the flight attendant said something about the gate that connected the plane to the airport was not working correctly. Kagome used her hand to shade her eyes from the noon sun sweltering down onto them and Inuyasha immediately took note. _Get her sunglasses and a sunhat… and airy clothes_. He was the protector, he was the hunter, and he was to be her husband. Inuyasha's duty in her life was to ensure that she would never be uncomfortable in anything and that she would always get what she wanted… away from Naraku's evil.

"The limousine is picking us up just outside of the airport. I have porters grabbing our bags and having them delivered to the hotel."

Kagome looked up at him, astonished. "You have personal porters?"

"No," Inuyasha pushed the door open for Kagome to enter and held it open for the person directly behind them. "But money talks."

Kagome simply nodded slowly and chose to say nothing while walking alongside Inuyasha—she was trying to figure out her life in the time it would take them to walk to the Customs and Immigration hall, clear immigration, and exit the airport. She would never have guessed, even two weeks ago, that she would be half-engaged to mob lord, Takahashi Inuyasha, travelling to Egypt, and anticipate a proposal – extravagant or otherwise.

 _I wish he would tell me what actually happened that night Mama died…_ Kagome zoned out from reality and allowed her feet to guide her, her attention half on Inuyasha and where he was heading. Luckily he was half a step in front of her and proved to be an efficient guide for her subconscious to follow.

 _I mean… I feel bad for being a recluse with respect to him… but what does he expect? I'll throw my arms around him and thank him for saving me?_ She inwardly snorted. _No… Mama and Daddy didn't teach me to be a damsel in distress. I'm a fighter and if he did the extensive research he says he did, he should know that._

But that letter…

 _That letter he has. It was definitely from Mama. And she signed it off as 'Aunt'. How does he know my mom? If he's thirty-two then… he was twenty-two when Mama died. And his brother? The letter said his brother also helped._

Kagome hated secrets. She hated the mystery and she hated not knowing. Gone were her fantasies, hopes, and dreams of having a beautiful wedding with all the trimmings, of having her mother sitting right at the front watching her with pride… She was stuck with her reality of marrying who the Asian subcontinent coined the _Devil_ : Inuyasha Takahashi, deadliest mob boss alive with connections to every corner of the world.

Possibly the universe.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize Inuyasha stopped walking to line up for immigration clearance. She walked right in to him and stumbled back a bit.

"You were on autopilot for quite some time, Kagome." He observed when she caught her balance. Kagome blushed in embarrassment and apologized for running in to him.

"No need," he rumbled. "What were you thinking about?"

He knew everything about her, she'd be damned if he knew her thoughts too.

"Nothing important."

But she forgot he was a self-proclaimed mind-reader.

"Our marriage and your situation is not what I would consider 'nothing important'." His voice held nothing but concern for her. Kagome was almost taken back at the genuineness in his voice—it sounded as if he _actually_ cared for her, and wasn't putting her through a shit show because he had to.

"It's a lot to take in." She revealed. "Just put yourself in my shoes."

She refused to say anything more.

Thankfully, he didn't press.

 _.xx._

Inuyasha had a penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel located by the Nile River. Kagome's jaw was slack as she was guided by Inuyasha, with his fingers pressed against the small of her back, in to their place of residence for the following three days. The duo came to a stop at the reception desk and Inuyasha promptly checked them in, obtained their key cards and guided Kagome to the elevator that would take them straight up.

"Come here often?" She managed to ask, aware of how his presence filled the hotel lobby. He knew where he was going, and he knew what he was doing.

"No, first time." He revealed. "I just do this frequently enough. Here is your card," he handed her a small envelope. "Our room has two bedrooms, you can take the master. You're to stay in the hotel all day today until I return from my meetings- _no exceptions_." He added when he saw her open her mouth in protest.

"They have their pool and spa. Spend time there." Inuyasha pulled a black card out of his pocket—the American Express Centurion card. Only the wealthiest and most elite people in the world get an invitation to possess that card…

 _He must've gotten an invitation from American Express…_ Kagome thought. "I can pay for it myself." She said pushing his hand and card out of the way. "You don't have to—"

"I _don't_ have to." He agreed. "I want to. You're stuck in this hotel all day because of me, it's the least I can do." Inuyasha offered the card to her again. "You don't have to use it—" it was a new feeling for him, being understanding and amicable. Normally he got everything he wanted whenever he wanted it. "But take it, please?"

And he never said please. To anyone.

Hesitantly, Kagome took his centurion card and tucked it in to her back pocket. The elevator door dinged, just in time, and the duo exited the small compartment and made their way to the grand penthouse door. Inuyasha swiped his key card and pushed the door open, revealing a beautifully furnished and elegant hotel room.

Their bags were placed neatly against the foyer wall.

"This is…"

Kagome had no words. The suite was as big as her shrine, if not bigger. Ironically, the room was decorated with a Moroccan theme, which finally solidified the fact that Kagome was nowhere near home. She felt a presence behind her and angled her head to find Inuyasha a hairs width away from her.

"Spectacular." He finished. Their room had the perfect view of the Nile River and, unbeknownst to Kagome, Inuyasha had requested the master bedroom have a view of the Nile—the bedroom that he had offered for Kagome to sleep in.

Kagome was quick to step away from Inuyasha. His presence unnerved her; he frightened her yet made her feel safe at the same time. "When are you leaving for your illegal meeting?"

He tried very hard not to roll his eyes.

"Shortly. I want to freshen up first. Are you hungry?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, just tired."

"You slept the entire way here." Inuyasha was deadpan. She _had_ slept for the better part of their flight and, although he wasn't going to admit it to her, he enjoyed their banter and playful conversation. It was embarrassing telling her how he originally lost his virginity, but he _appreciated_ it…

Inuyasha couldn't remember the last time he had a connection with somebody the way he did with Kagome.

 _I wouldn't call it a connection, really… but whatever we have, it amuses me. Annoying at times, but definitely amusing.  
_

"And I have jetlag." Kagome breezed past him heading towards the bedroom, but was abruptly stopped when his fingers curled around her wrist. Within the blink of an eye Kagome found herself whirled in to Inuyasha's chest.

Her eyes widened.

"Your bedroom is _that_ way." He used his head to usher to the room opposite of where she was walking. Kagome was too stunned to fight him.

"Sleep tight."

He released his hold on her and sauntered off towards the second bedroom.

Kagome gaped at his retreating back. _What the hell just happened?_

 _.xx._

"Have you learned Arabic yet?"

Kagome had her headphones on talking to Sango on the phone while soaking in a sea salt bath. The spa was a spectacular place to be and, despite not wanting to adhere to Inuyasha's demands, Kagome couldn't imagine being anywhere else _other_ than the spa.

"I've been here for, like, eight hours. The word I've heard the most is _habibi_ … or something like that."

"What does it mean?"

"No idea." Kagome sunk deeper in to her bath. "I didn't realize how badly I needed a vaca—I'll call you back."

"Devil?"

"At six o'clock."

Sango giggled but bade her friend farewell anyway. Kagome tore her headphone off and glared at the impeccably suited silver-haired man leaning against the doorframe. She was thankful that there were suds left from her sea salt bubble bath, keeping her modesty intact and prevented Inuyasha's eyes from wandering.

"Having fun?"

"You're being a pervert." She was tart.

Inuyasha chuckled. "No, I'm not. I knocked a few times but you weren't acknowledging it—" he took a step in to the private spa room. "So, being the gallant fiancé that I am, I rushed in to rescue you."

"You're not my fiancé yet." Kagome muttered. It didn't escape Inuyasha that she used the term _yet_ at the end of her sentence. That could only mean positive things.

"I can still fear for your safety, can I not?"

Kagome's eyes were locked onto his, unblinking. She was trying read him with no success. "I suppose you can. How was your meeting?"

Inuyasha took another step in. "Boring. I'm never a fan of them—both the legal _and_ illegal kinds." He added the last bit with a wink. Kagome giggled.

"I presume them to be very boring?"

" _Very_. In fact, they're _so_ boring that I took the liberty to arrange a private tour of the Pyramids of Giza for us today, and a private tour of the Temple of Amun-re tomorrow." Seeing the excitement in her eyes caused an unknown feeling to flood in to the pit of Inuyasha's stomach. What was it about the woman sitting in front of him that made him _want_ to do nice things?! _And what the hell is the feeling I get **after** I do things I think she'd like?_

Inuyasha was sure the feeling was satisfaction of doing things for her that only the provider in her life would be able to do.

"Did you really?"

He nodded, unfolding his arms. "I did. Dry up and meet me back in our room—I have another surprise for you."

For the second time that day, Kagome gawked at her vacation buddy retreating. _Another… surprise?_

 _.xx._

There were dresses upon dresses, shoes upon shoes, and jewelry that would've made the crown princess of any country jealous. Colours and silks that were beyond Kagome's imagination were displayed before her, like a museum and the jewels? They sparkled so beautifully that, for a brief moment, Kagome wondered if they were created in a world not theirs.

"Do you like them?"

Kagome turned around and found Inuyasha standing a foot away from her, watching. She looked over her shoulder at the plethora of gifts he provided and turned back. "You didn't have—"

"I know. I wanted to."

The exchange of words was becoming a common theme in their relationship.

"But… why?"

Inuyasha closed the gap between them and grabbed her by the shoulders. The heat radiating off his body was seeping in to her pores and she was _very_ aware of how close he was. Kagome's head was near spinning—from the surprise tour of the Pyramids of Giza, to the museum of gifts presented to her, and the closeness of Inuyasha's body to hers, it was all too much.

"Because I want to protect you. Because I need you to see that you can trust me, and that nobody in this world will ever be as important as you will be to me as my wife."

Inuyasha's gut clenched when he saw a flicker of vulnerability in Kagome's eyes. Whatever wall she kept up and shield she wrapped herself in was beginning to wane.

"You can't want to protect me because I'm to be your wife." Kagome whispered, but she didn't shrug away from his touch. "You have to want to protect me because I'm _Kagome_."

Shock rocked him to his core. _Because you're… Kagome?_

"Marry me because I'm _me_ , not because I'm my mother's daughter." Her voice was a whisper.

Inuyasha knew her walls were cracking. "I want to marry you first. Who you are, Kagome, is what will determine how our marriage will go…"

Just as quickly as she let her guard down, she threw it back up. She pushed him away and turned back to the gifts he had laid out for her—she couldn't look at him. "We're going to the Pyramids today?"

Inuyasha wouldn't let her see how his shoulders sagged. He knew he couldn't get greedy; he had to woo Kagome and make her feel special. He knew deep down that that was what Kagome really wanted: not a marriage of convenience but a man that wanted to be with her because of _who_ she was. It was unfortunate that he couldn't give it to her the order in which she wanted, but based on the glimpses he caught of her personality beyond the wall she had up, he knew that he could easily want to be with a woman like Kagome.

 _One day at a time_.

"Yes we are. Pick anything you like from here and meet me in the living room?"

He saw her nod and backed out of the room.

What Inuyasha didn't see were the tears streaming down her cheeks. When Kagome heard the door to her bedroom click shut, she sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands, letting the tears freely escape from behind her eyelids, and onto the plush beige carpeting of her room. _He wants to protect me… I know he does… but how do I let somebody help me when I've been helping myself for the last ten years?_

 _.xx._

 **Alas, this chapter has come to an end :)**

 **Few things: Husband has returned from vacation (he was gone for 3 weeks), so my update schedule won't be as frequent as it was for the last few days, but I will continue updating on (hopefully) a weekly basis.**

 **Two: I know a lot of us are romantics at heart and don't want Inuyasha and Kagome to feel annoyed with each other, or anything other than love and affection. We all know they're gonna fall in love and we all know they will be together but… I dunno, just based on the situation Kagome is put in, I feel like a bit of hostility is warranted until she realizes that he will do anything to protect her.**

 **And we're slowly getting there :D**


	14. To Argue with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To_ _Argue with the Devil_

It was much to Inuyasha's dismay that Kagome emerged from her bedroom wearing clothing that he had not purchased for her. Gorgeous, nonetheless, but he was expecting her to don the beautifully coloured silk which would further accentuate her creamy skin and raven tresses.

"Don't remember getting you that." He ushered with his head. Kagome shrugged and he noted that her eyes were slightly red and a little puffy.

 _She was crying…_

"I don't need clothes." She said her voice not at all spiteful or laced with attitude. She was genuinely informing him that she did not need the clothing he provided. "I have clothes and I've brought enough for the next three days."

To say he wasn't surprised would've been a lie, because Inuyasha was very surprised. He had never met a woman that denied beautiful clothing and expensive jewels. "Oh?" He felt stupid for not having a wittier response.

Kagome looked around the living room area of their penthouse hotel suite. "What I _need_ is a pair of sunglasses, sunscreen, and big funny looking sunhat for this private tour." And, like magic, Inuyasha revealed his hands, which were discreetly hidden behind his torso, holding a giant floppy sunhat and designer sunglasses. Despite herself, Kagome grinned idiotically.

"See, _that's_ all you have to do to win me over." With the utmost grace Inuyasha had ever seen in a woman display, she placed the hat atop her head and slid the sunglasses on. And, despite himself, he grinned like a little boy.

"You look like you're in your zone."

She gave him a faux-curtsey. " _Shukraan_." Kagome thanked him with one of the few Arabic words she had picked up on in her few hours in Egypt. Taking his outstretched arm, Kagome allowed him to escort her out of their penthouse and towards the elevator.

"How did you manage to get us a private tour of the Pyramids of Giza?"

"Connections—and before you ask me, these are _legal_ connections."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to _ask_ , but thank you for clarifying. How do you know people in Egypt that gets you private tours of the pyramids?"

"I use nothing but authentic Egyptian cotton for my _Shikon_ line," Inuyasha revealed, "we have partners here who know people who know people who are related to the pharaohs or something… I just had to ask nicely."

Kagome's face deadpanned. "You threatened to stop using their cotton unless they gave us a private tour, didn't you?"

For some reason he was not at all surprised that she was able to deduce that. "I don't know how you did it, but you're right."

The sun hit their faces with such intensity that Kagome felt that she would melt any moment. Truly Egypt was a wondrous place, scenery and heat included. "This is coming from the same guy who gave me an ultimatum: marry me or marry me." Kagome snorted. "I'm sure you threatened _somebody_ somewhere to get you what you want. How did you about phrasing it anyway? My concubine and I would like a private tour of the Pyramids," Kagome swooshed her hand to add dramatic effect, "do now or forever hold your peace!"

The driver of the limousine waiting for them quickly opened the door when he saw them approaching. Inuyasha merely tipped his head towards the driver and got in after Kagome.

"Something to that effect."

"Elaborate, Mob Lord."

Inuyasha pulled the divider up so that the driver wouldn't be privy to their conversation. "I told them that I would like to take my woman for a private tour of the Pyramids so that I can propose to her…" He copied the elaborate swoosh of her hand. "Do now or forever hold your peace."

"You do have a sense of humour." Her lip twitched. "And you aren't proposing to me at the Pyramids. There has been limited to no wooing as far I as I can tell."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and folded one leg over the other. "Of course I don't intend to propose to you at the Great Pyramids, Kagome. That's cheesy."

Deciding that he was difficult to communicate with, Kagome opted to watch the scenery whiz pass her as the driver took them to the edge of the desert where another car would transport them to the Pyramids. Kagome noted a few black cars following the limousine.

 _Probably his goons._

"Why were you crying."

The hairs on Kagome's neck stood on end. She wasn't expecting his voice to be so close and she definitely did not anticipate him knowing that she had a good crying free-for-all. "How did—"

"Mind reader."

"Seriously."

Inuyasha chuckled and brushed his fingers over her right cheek. This caused her to look over her shoulder, making the mortal mistake of locking her eyes with his. The glowing ochre shade mesmerized her and it was then she realized just how stunning the Mob Lord actually was.

"You had puffy red eyes when you came out of your room, clear indication that you were crying." He revealed his secret. "I want to know why."

"You can want all you want," Kagome didn't realize how silly she sounded. She was too caught up in the intoxicating scent of Inuyasha—his aura was too much and she was beginning to learn what made him so impressionable in his world. "But that doesn't mean you'll get it."

"Please?"

Kagome noted the tenderness in his voice and the softness in his eyes. _Fuck, he's good_. Before she could stop herself, she spilled: "I don't want you to take care of me when I've been doing it since the accident."

He wasn't expecting that answer and quickly pulled back. "Sorry?"

The trance was broken and Kagome threw up the walls he so carefully chipped away. "Never mind. I don't know why I—" she was moving to look away from him but a firm grip on her chin prevented her from doing so. Inuyasha moved her face so that it was looking at him once more.

"Say that again, Kagome."

"Higurashi." It was habit for her to correct him. She had let him say her name a few times but she, honestly, didn't know how else to react in the situation she was sitting in.

"Kagome." He said firmly, warning her that it wasn't the time. "What did you say."

It was a command, not an ask.

"I have taken care of myself for ten years." She repeated, looked away from him even though he held her chin in place. "I don't need you to come take care of me."

He was beginning to see what made Kagome _tick_ , the reason behind his research. "You're afraid of somebody coming in to your life."

"No!" She tried to pull her head away but it was to no avail. "What I'm _afraid_ of is somebody committing themselves to me for the _rest of their life_ because of a secret promise made to my mother and because of an invisible danger that, after _ten years_ , is threatening me. I'm _afraid_ of being unhappy for the rest of my life because somebody is marrying me out of _duty_ and not out of _love_."

There.

She said it.

"You want me to love you?"

 _Of all the—_ "You get _that_ part out of everything I just said?" The man was a moron!

"Well… yeah, it had the word love in it."

Kagome rolled her eyes and tried to wretch away from him again. He released his hold on her but just to cup her face with his hands. Her heart jumped to her throat when she realized how close he _actually_ was.

 _What is he doing?!_

"Inuyasha?" She brought her hands up to pull his away from her face but he was firm.

"Can I promise you something?"

… "What?"

He leaned his face closer. "Marry me, and I will love you like no man has ever loved you."

" _No_ man has ever loved me." She reminded him.

He chose to ignore her. "What will make you say yes? Without inhibitions and ill-thoughts?"

"Apart from wooing me?"

"I had full intention of doing that anyway."

"Marry me because you _want_ to."

Inuyasha felt his gut wretch because he couldn't give that to her no matter how much he wanted to. He had to marry her because it was his duty, the result of an age-long promise he made to her mother… but what if…?

"I can't do that," he was being honest and he released his hold on her face. "But how about I offer you something?"

She narrowed her eyes. "And that is…?"

"Marry me until the immediate danger is gone, however long that takes: one, two, five, ten years." He watched her and was impressed to see that she gave no indication of a reaction. "At that point you can choose to leave me, if you wish, or remain married."

"But I thought you said it's a lifelong thing." Kagome raised an eyebrow, accusing him of something with her eyes.

"I did." He nodded and slid back to his spot. "But that's because I don't want my marriage to end in a divorce." Her eyes widened but he had already looked away from her. "I don't believe in divorces and I wanted to make the best of our situation but if true love is what you're looking for and _if_ I can't give that to you, then you have the option of leaving."

"What do you mean _if_ you can't give it to me?"

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "What part of me giving you anything you want do you not understand?" It was difficult being patient. He was just so used to getting what he wanted and _working_ for it in a non-lethal manner was making him impatient. If it were _anybody_ other than Kagome that he had to marry he would've gagged and tied her to the courts and gotten a civil marriage done.

But she was Kagome, innocent, sweet Kagome who was unaware of the danger she was in.

"Even if it includes love?" Her voice reflected the awe she felt.

He paused a moment but nodded. "Even if it's that."

"But you've never—"

Inuyasha turned around at this point. "Yes, I've never been in love. I never planned to be in love given my lifestyle but if I cannot fall in love with my wife, then what else is love good for?"

"Again, you're doing it because you _need_ to."

His voice did not defy the anger he was beginning to feel. Kagome was incredibly difficult and all he wanted to do was shake some sense in to the woman. The driver began to slide the divider down but Inuyasha stopped him immediately, telling him that he and the lady would be a few more minutes and to give them some privacy.

The driver adhered to his request and left the car to have a smoke.

"How the fuck do you fall in love at will?" He asked in a lethal whisper. "How the hell do you _choose_ somebody one day and say Hey! I'm gonna love this person?!"

Kagome gulped.

"You don't. I'm saying that you marry me and I will do everything a good husband should do and _hope_ that you get the love you want from it. We can learn to love each other, but I _want_ you to have what you want and if that's a fairy tale true love ending and _if_ I can give that to you, then I will." Inuyasha's eyes were a shade darker. " _You_ need to stop fucking asking me all these questions and _trust_ me because as far as I can see, Kagome, I have done nothing to not earn your trust."

"Except lend my father an exorbitant amount of money."

"That had nothing to do with your trust." He said in a strangled tone. "Why must you be so _difficult_? I flew you to Egypt to get to know you better, bought you clothes and jewelry in hopes that it would lighten your mood, booked a private tour of the Great Pyramids _and_ the Temple of Amun-re because _you_ mentioned you wanted to go… _what else can I do_?!"

Kagome looked away from him.

"I empathize, I really do, but you aren't giving me any leeway. You want to know what danger it is? Fine. I can let you do whatever the hell it is you want to do but when Naraku finds out where you are and learns you aren't under my protection only _then_ will you realize what a mistake you did." Inuyasha sighed, not knowing what else he could say to her. "Let's just get this tour out of the way. I'll cancel Amun-re tomorrow and send you back to Japan."

Kagome looked at him in shock. Inuyasha was about to disembark but she called out to him. "No, wait!"

He paused and didn't look around at her.

"I… apologize for being difficult but you—"

"But I need to see where you're coming from. You've said that enough times." He turned back at her. "But _you_ , my dear, need to see where _I_ am coming from. Your mother was the greatest woman I have ever had the privilege to know and, unfortunately, I can't give you full details until a year after our marriage – something I have already promised you. I will _not_ let any harm come to her daughter and marrying you…" he paused and shut the door to fully turn towards Kagome. "Kagome. _Marry you_. Me: a man that had no intention of marrying _anybody_ or fall in love, is willing to _marry_ you and take a chance at falling in love because I _love_ and _respect_ your mother." He used present tense and she did not miss that.

"Don't you think I'm making sacrifices too?"

Kagome had actually not looked at his point of view. "Well…"

Inuyasha took the opening she gave him. "Sometime during the next two days I _will_ propose to you, because you deserve no less. After _that_ I will woo you, because that is what you want and I – again – refuse to give you less than what you want. I will give you _everything_ and _anything_ your heart wants, but you have to let me. I appreciate that you have taken care of yourself, your brother _and_ your father for ten years. I appreciate that you are taking care of your business and your pregnant best friend, but Kagome… it's time you let somebody take care of _you_ because they _want_ to."

"Not want—"

"I want to." He interrupted her interruption. "Do not tell me what I want or do not want because you don't know me."

Kagome's eyes were watering but she refused to let the tears fall. Inuyasha scooted closer. "But I want you to know me. I'm not a bad guy, just a Mob Lord."

Despite herself, Kagome let out a hiccup of a laugh. Cursing himself inwardly he cupped her face once more and rubbed the pad of his left thumb just under her right eye. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Just a lot of information."

Inuyasha could accept that. "I'm sorry."

"No, I am." She mumbled. "I only thought about myself and what you were doing to me that I didn't even think to see it from your point of view."

"So let's start again?"

She was confused. "Pardon?"

He rubbed just below her eye once again. "Hi, I'm Inuyasha Takahashi… notorious mob lord, called _The Devil_ by some… would you be willing to dance with the devil?"

 _Cheesy_.

"I suppose…"

"Then do you suppose that I can kiss you? It could signify the official beginning of our courtship."

Kagome's heart thudded. If she were to… if she was going to… if they were going to…

"Yes." She heard herself whisper before her brain could process what he said. And, even quicker than that, Inuyasha leaned forward and pressed his soft lips gently again hers.

Even more surprising than the feel of his lips were the fireworks around them, the disappearance of reality, and the racing of Kagome's heart.

 _.xx._

 **It was high time Inuyasha gave Kagome _his_ point of view. Still on track for weekly updates and story is progressing as I would like.**

 **AND FIRST KISS!**

 **14 chapters later... about dang time, author (lol!)**

 **Any guesses what the history and danger might be? And will Inuyasha be proposing at the Great Pyramids or at the Temple of Amun-re? OR... is he proposing AT ALL?! Hmmmmm, food for thought :D**


	15. To Say Yes to the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To_ _Say Yes to the Devil_

True to his word, Inuyasha secured them a private tour of the Pyramids of Giza. Standing before the manmade wonder of the world stood Inuyasha with his fingers laced through Kagome's. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was, indeed, a tad surprised that she allowed him to hold her hand, but he also was not expecting her to return the kiss earlier.

And, of all the kisses he had experienced, Kagome's lips were by far the sweetest and most tender.

The greatest kiss he had the privilege of having.

"This is… breathtaking." Kagome exhaled softly. Her eyes were slightly widened while she scanned her surroundings. Inuyasha, who had been to Egypt previously and had marvelled at the beauty of the pyramids, studied Kagome. There was a different type of beauty about her when she wasn't struggling to keep him at arm's length.

"You know what's even more breathtaking?"

Inuyasha didn't know how to explain the urge to _impress_ her. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Kagome shook her head before looking over at him. "More breathtaking than this? The Temple of Amun-re?"

He smirked. "No. Though that, too, is quite remarkable. I was referring to the Montazah Palace."

"We have a private tour of the Palace too?!"

Inuyasha would've felt bad if he laughed in her face, but he was incredibly close to doing so. "Whatever gave you _that_ idea? I only asked you if you wanted to know what's more breathtaking than the Great Pyramids."

Kagome's face fell and Inuyasha couldn't hold his laughter in any longer. Spending time with her was marvellous, particularly on the sandy terrain of Egypt. The sun was sweltering, but it proved to be nothing too hot for either of the two—it was just them, the great pyramids… and time.

"Well you know… you have the tendency of surprising me so—"

It was very difficult to not throw his head back and laugh with every ounce of his body. Even when Kagome wasn't trying, she was hilarious. Inuyasha untangled his fingers from hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, effectively pulling her closer to his body. A light gale picked up causing a stray lock of Kagome's bangs to flow along with the wind. She was quick to push her bang in to place.

"Although I wish I could give you all that and more, we don't have time for so many tours over two days." Inuyasha gave her one final squeeze before relinquishing his hold. "And besides, I have a proposal to plan out."

As he expected, Kagome rolled her eyes. "Then quit saying things that are meant to get me excited. Geez…"

Inuyasha chuckled and watched as Kagome ran forward, taking pictures of the view before them. He took the opportunity to pull his phone out and check up on home base…

"Miroku, it's me."

"How's Egypt?"

"Met with Lady Urasue today."

"She still wants to be referred to as Lady?"

Inuyasha snorted, making sure he watched Kagome as he spoke with his wingman. "She's clinging onto her youth. Urasue did agree to help fund the project."

"Perfect. And you meet with the Shikon partners tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I have to do something first…"

"Propose?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"Montazah Palace."

"I'll send some men to prepare for the occasion."

Inuyasha knew he could count on Miroku.

"What is Kouga up to?"

"Making rounds."

"Did we find anymore accomplices?"

"Negative."

"Leads?"

"No."

Inuyasha nodded, though Miroku couldn't see. No more words needed to be said and the notorious gangster hung up. He shoved his phone in to the inner pocket of his blazer and languidly strolled to where Kagome was erratically taking pictures. Inuyasha attempted to snake his arm around her waist but she swatted him away.

"Do not interrupt me. I'm transferring all of this in to digital memory."

He chuckled. _What is it about her?!_ He certainly did not expect her to act like how she was! Inuyasha was under the impression that she would continue to sass him and push back relentlessly; but for her to – in essence—accept him?!

He needed to know what she was thinking.

Scheming, even.

"Our private tour is almost done, sweetheart." Inuyasha called out as he approached his soon-to-be-future fiancée. "Miroku just informed me that I have a last minute meeting tonight."

Kagome's face fell and Inuyasha felt like his gut was punched.

What _was_ it about this woman that made him feel these things? He had his fair share of women during his lifetime but none of them made him feel so—so— _Ugh I don't even have a fucking word to describe how the hell she makes me feel!_

It concept was terribly irritating.

"But we just got here!"

Inuyasha chuckled and curled his fingers around Kagome's upper arm to tug her in the general direction of where their limousine was parked.

"I know, I'm sorry… but I have to go slave in boring meetings so that I can bring home the bacon to provide for my family." Kagome merely rolled her eyes and adjusted the brim of her sunhat. Inuyasha's statement was amusing because he was probably rolling around in a pile of money.

"You probably have so much influence in the black market that if you stopped working today, our next ten generations will have enough money to live lavishly." Inuyasha threw his head back and laughed at his woman's statement.

 _Yeah. She's right_.

"I noted that you said _our_ generations… planning on making babies with me?"

As he was a few steps ahead of her, he missed the slight rosiness that appeared around her nose. "Well we didn't rule it out, Takahashi." There was a playful lilt in her voice that drove him wild. _This_ was the woman Miroku's research told him about and _this_ was the woman he wanted to get to know but, at the same time, stay away. Inuyasha knew that if who the woman with him now was the _real_ Kagome he would be in deep shit, because she would become his single weakness but also his greatest strength.

And that worried him.

Takahashi Inuyasha, also known as The Devil and the deadliest man in the _world,_ had no weakness.

He wasn't going to let his wife become one, either.

 _But what if you can't help it?_ The annoying devil's advocate that perpetually resided in his brain piped up annoyingly.

 _I can, and I will._

But Inuyasha didn't know who he was convincing: himself, or the devil's advocate (better known as his conscience).

 _.xx._

The Takahashi Family Heirloom was a beautifully master crafted blood red ruby cushioned within twelve teardrop shaped diamonds. It was commissioned by Inuyasha's grandfather from five generations ago—he was a warlord in Feudal Japan that fell in love with the daughter of his mortal enemy. According to lore, Inuyasha's grandfather managed to breach a heavily guarded fortress to whisk his beloved away and live within the forests of Feudal Japan, away from the warring states…

The couple had three children and passed on the ring to their eldest son's bride and, ever since, the ring had been passed down.

When the ring made it to Inuyasha's father, Inutaisho's generation, there was a slight hiccup; Inutaisho was betrothed to Sesshomaru's, Inuyasha's older half-brother, mother, Kimi. Sesshomaru was born and merely a child of three years when his parents broke off their engagement due to irreconcilable differences. Kimi returned the ring to Inutaisho and relinquished custody of her son.

When Inutaisho met Inuyasha's mother and was positive she was the one, he presented her with the heirloom ring. The ring now was in Inuyasha's possession, feeling like lead in his back pocket.

Due to familial technicalities, Sesshomaru wasn't able to get the ring. Sesshomaru, although in a decade long relationship and a five year old son, was not legally bound to his significant other. Sesshomaru and his woman, Rin, lived in a legal common-law relationship with their son Shippo and as such, the ring was passed to Inuyasha as he had every intention in taking a bride.

Inuyasha stood in the balcony of their hotel slowly nursing a whiskey on the rocks. _This is it…_

In less than an hour he would be proposing to Kagome and ultimately sealing their fate.

Inuyasha exhaled and closed his eyes momentarily. _Never thought life would end up like this… mob lord out to marry a woman he barely knows because her mother was your secret godmother…_

The ring box seemed to keep getting heavier and heavier. _It's do or die, Takahashi._

He pushed himself off the balcony railing and began his languid stride to Kagome's humble abode. Inuyasha needed to think of an excuse to get her to go out with him without questioning his motives… _She thinks you're going to a meeting… use that_.

Inuyasha gently lay his whiskey glass down on the kitchenette bar before rapping on Kagome's bedroom door.

"Come in!"

He pushed the door open and was blown away; Kagome adorned a beautiful silk dress that he knew he bought for her. She was sitting in front of the vanity, tying her hair up in to an intricate braid. Kagome was all too oblivious to Inuyasha staring…

"Are you leaving?"

Inuyasha didn't anticipate her to be the first to ask a question…

"I was thinking maybe I can go to the strip mall close by?" She turned over her shoulder to smile at him. "You did say two of your men were expected to fly in today? Maybe they can come with me so you won't be shitting bricks while at your meeting, wondering if I've been kidnapped and mummified alive."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I think I fear for Egypt's safety, not yours."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "And that's supposed to mean what?"

Chuckling, Inuyasha minimized the gap between them. With a fluid motion he caught her chin and pressed his lips against hers for a quick peck. "It means you're a force to be reckoned with."

"Don't randomly kiss me, it doesn't become you."

"And faking this tough act doesn't become you either, sweetheart." With a wink he turned to walk away. As he reached the doorframe, Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh by the way, meet me in the lobby in fifteen minutes… I have a surprise for you."

He left as she raised both eyebrows.

 _Surprise?_

Kagome turned back to the mirror to study herself. It definitely was easier to be herself and not somebody who analyzed and second guessed everything that happened in her life… but still, she didn't completely trust Inuyasha, she trusted him just _enough_.

 _Enough to get him by, I suppose. But keep yourself guarded, if a man can dupe your father the way he did, he cannot be trusted fully_.

Her shoulders sagged. _I suppose I trust him enough to surprise me though._

 _.xx._

Inuyasha was leaning against a pillar looking like the epitome of perfection. He donned khaki slacks and a half buttoned up ash grey shirt, his chest peeking through being just enough to have women fantasize about what else was beneath his clothes.

 _You've been at war against rivalling kingpins, dodged death, and cheated life… and you're getting fucking nervous about proposing?!_ Inuyasha was absolutely disgusted with himself—he should've been taking control of the situation, grabbing the bull by the horns—

"Holy sh—"

"Hey."

Kagome had taken the opportunity to change in to a beautiful flowing golden skirt and a creamy white chemise. She twisted her hair in to a braided crown and ensured that her makeup application was minimum at best.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

 _Keep your fucking cool._

"Hey yourself," he nodded his head at her and pushed himself off of the pillar. "Are you ready?"

Her nod was reluctant. "Don't you have a meeting?"

"It's an outdoors meeting. I wanted to bring you along so that you aren't cooped up in here…"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "That's the surprise?"

"Nope." He guided her to where their limo was parked. Inuyasha's fingers were gently pressed against the small of her back, effectively letting everybody know around them that she belonged to him.

"Will you elaborate?"

"Absolutely not."

"You're incredibly infuriating."

"I know."

Kagome simply rolled her eyes as she boarded the limo.

 _Ass_.

 _.xx._

Kagome's jaw was slack when she saw the view of Montazah Palace getting closer and closer. Inuyasha, on the other hand, studied Kagome. The events of the past few days played in his head like a movie and, in hindsight; he knew he should've approached the situation differently. But, in his defense, when he did what he did Inuyasha did not know _who_ Kagome was. All he knew was _what_ she was and that, too, was based on what Miroku reported.

But after getting to know her and journeying through the treacherous perils of being the object of her utmost hatred to somebody she could tolerate, Inuyasha knew there was more than what met the eyes with Kagome… she was a sweet, loyal, and nurturing woman that would make the Takahashi name proud.

"So you did intend on surprising me." Kagome turned to Inuyasha with an accusatory tone. The mob lord rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps."

"Real smooth, Casanova."

He flicked some invisible dust off of his shoulder. "Thank you, sweetheart."

The ring box gained twenty pounds.

After a short runaround the parking area of the palace, the couple disembarked their vessel and began to walk towards the beautiful architecture at a languid pace. Sometime during their comfortably silent walk Inuyasha had wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her a smidgen closer to him.

"This place is absolutely beautiful."

"Hmmm…" He said nothing.

"You didn't have another meeting, did you?"

"Nope."

"So you planned this?"

"Kind of. I mentioned it to Miroku and he pulled some strings."

Kagome had to laugh at that one. "Personal concierge service?"

"The perks of having wingmen."

"Will they be my wingmen too?"

"Of course."

He loved the tone of their conversation. It was so light and airy, so unlike every other time they talked. Perhaps he was slowly chipping away at the wall she erected to keep him out. It certainly felt that way when her tongue was in his mouth and her body was crushed against his…

"Inuyasha?"

He broke out of his reverie to look down at Kagome. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

He frowned. "What?"

"Yes, I will marry you… that's why we're here isn't it? So you can propose to me?"

…

"You fucking ruined it!"

 _.xx._

 **Making progress :)**

 **BTW: A few stories of mine have been taken down for various reasons. They aren't permanently deleted, but rather to rework on. If one of your favourites has been taken down, it most likely will be reposted in the future.**


	16. To Be Betrothed to the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To_ _be Betrothed to the Devil_

Kagome threw her head back and laugher bubbled out of her. Inuyasha could do nothing but glare at his, now, fiancée. Here he was trying to ensure that she had everything she ever wanted, including a romantic proposal at the Montazah Palace, and she had to go and _ruin_ his plans. If she were anybody else the gun that was perpetually holstered to his hip would've come out and brains would've been blasted.

But she wasn't anybody else.

She was Kagome.

"Are you quite done?"

Kagome stopped laughing for a second to look at him and giggle out the word _no_ before returning to uncontrollable laughter. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked around them to see a few people staring— _fucking wench_.

Wiping a tear from her left eye, Kagome finally regained composure. She crossed her arms to smirk at him. "You are terrible at keeping things a secret, Takahashi."

"How could you possibly have—"

"Perhaps your mindreading ability rubbed off on me."

He was so ready to wipe the smirk off of her face. _What the hell? Why don't I?_

Kagome did not have time to register Inuyasha quickly closing the gap between them. It wasn't until his soft lips were pressed against hers did she realize that he was kissing her. She was stunned and could not react—her mindreading abilities were novice at best as she wasn't able to anticipate him doing _that_.

Inuyasha pulled back with a smirk. "I see you aren't at my level of mind reading yet."

"You've had years of practice." Kagome rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. "But really… you mention Montazah earlier, tell me we aren't going, then suddenly have a surprise meeting and suddenly we're going to Montazah? I saw it coming from a mile away."

He had to hand it to her, she deduced that quite well.

"Miroku had something planned," he revealed. "I told him I was going to do it here and he said he'd prepare something for us."

"Do you know what?"

"No idea."

Kagome nodded slowly and, after a moment of thought, she put her hands on her hips. "Actually, Takahashi, I take it back. You haven't proposed to me yet so no, I will not marry you until you get down on one knee and give me a sappy tear jerking speech of how I complete you. Maybe _then_ I'll contemplate it."

"You just want to have bragging rights as being the only person in the world that was able to bring me down to my knee."

There was a twinkle in her eye. "Perhaps."

At least Inuyasha premeditated going down on one knee. Inhaling deeply Inuyasha pulled his pants up a little bit before falling to his left knee while simultaneously pulling the ring box out of his pocket. He did not miss the gasp escaping from Kagome's lips and the half a step back she took. She hadn't actually anticipated him to go down on one knee…

"Higurashi Kagome," he started. A crowd began to form. "We haven't known each other for long," he had been thinking about his proposal for the last two nights, phrasing and rephrasing what he wanted to be the perfect nuptial ode. "A few weeks at best? And the circumstance of our marriage is less than ideal, we can both agree to that…"

Kagome really had tears beginning to pool behind her lids. She didn't think he was going to go down on one knee and now that he had, she didn't expect a speech… she truly believed that Inuyasha was going to simply ask her to marry him as he certainly wasn't emotionally invested in her enough to say anything remotely amicable, let alone romantic.

"But I have promised you, time and time again, that I refuse to give you less than your heart's desire. You want a real proposal, I am giving it to you, you want a real marriage, and I promise I will do my best to give that to you as well—" at some point Inuyasha forgot his script and began reciting the words in his heart. "I need you to understand that if it's love that you want—a husband's love, then a husband's love is what you will get… and if you feel that I haven't been able to give you that, you can leave when… it's okay to." He really didn't want to say _when you're life isn't in danger_ in the middle of his proposal in public.

Inuyasha also did not want to say false romantic words to make the proposal _seem_ romantic. His and Kagome's union was anything _but_ one of romance and he knew that she would appreciate his words; if anything, simply because of the sheer honesty in them.

"You will never feel second to my line of work, and you will never feel that this is merely an arrangement. The ball will always be in your court; my men are your men, my allies are your allies… whatever you need, day or night, you may have." Tears began to spill down Kagome's cheeks. "But I want you to promise me that along with your loyalty, you will give me your word that if I request that you do not do something, or do not go somewhere you will listen to me. It isn't because I am imposing my power, but because of a potential threat."

Kagome bit her lower lip.

"I know you'll make me happy… you've certainly kept me on my toes for the last few weeks." He winked. She giggled.

"So what do you say, sweetheart? Will you be my missus?"

Unable to speak coherent words, she simply nodded. The cold gold band slid onto her ring finger; a perfect fit. No sooner after the ring was secured onto her finger, his lips found hers.

Another perfect fit…

 _.xx._

Kagome examined her engagement ring while on Inuyasha's private jet, flying back to Japan. It was absolutely beautiful; the stones held a sort of clarity that was no longer found in gems in the modern era. Inuyasha was in the bathroom allowing Kagome the privacy of looking at the ring up close.

Unfortunately for her Inuyasha received a call from Kouga around midnight requesting his immediate return to Japan. Although Kagome didn't want to express disappointment in not being able to see the Temple of Amun-re, Inuyasha wasn't able to keep his opinion to himself.

"Fucking idiot," he had scoffed as they packed. "I told him I was gone for two days! I had to miss the fucking Shikon meeting—augh!"

Kagome gave him the space to rant. _At least you did the illegal part of this trip._ Her inner sarcasm quipped.

Underneath the reading light of her seat Kagome held the ring up close to her face. _There's an inscription!_ She squinted, trying her damned best to decipher the old Japanese script…

 _The sun may set;  
The stars may die…_

"Our love is eternal. I can see it in your eyes."

Kagome jumped when she heard Inuyasha's voice dangerously close to her ear.

"Inuyasha…"

His smirk was lethal. Slipping into his seat, Inuyasha made sure not to break eye contact with his fiancée. "Grandfather Muteki had the script engraved onto the original band. Because we resize the band every generation, we make sure to have the inscription put back on."

 _Muteki_ , Kagome caught his great grandfather's name, _invincible…_

"Your grandfather must've been quite the romantic."

He wolfishly grinned. "From what I heard. My grandmother fell victim to his devilish charm."

"Fitting description, Devil."

Inuyasha swallowed his laughter. "You have quite the number of endearments for me."

"They are not endearments—"

Inuyasha cut her off. "Let's see: Takahashi—"

"That's your last name."

Again, he ignored her. "Mob Lord, Devil, Casanova, Jackass 9000, Jackass to the power of infinity—"

"How the hell do you know about my caller ID names?!"

"Any other names you have for me?"

Kagome crossed her arms and harrumphed. "I'm just going to call you _husband_ from now on."

"Fitting."

"Shut up, Mob Lord."

He finally allowed his laughter to echo throughout his jet. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."

Exaggeratingly rolling her eyes, Kagome curled in to a small ball and willed herself to fall asleep. The entire time, however, she felt the penetrating stare of Inuyasha's gaze on her back and the weight of her engagement ring on her finger.

 _.xx._

All hell broke loose when Kagome arrived home. Inuyasha instructed Ginta to drive Kagome home from the airport when they arrived in Japan; he had to go home immediately to tend to Kouga's call. He parted ways with a kiss and told her he'd call her later that night…

Kagome dragged her feet up the shrine steps. Her mind was buzzing with all that transpired over the last two days, from him knocking the sense back into her:

 _"You don't. I'm saying that you marry me and I will do everything a good husband should do and hope that you get the love you want from it. We can learn to love each other, but I want you to have what you want and if that's a fairy tale true love ending and if I can give that to you, then I will. You need to stop fucking asking me all these questions and trust me because as far as I can see, Kagome, I have done nothing to not earn your trust."_

 _"Except lend my father an exorbitant amount of money."_

 _"That had nothing to do with your trust. Why must you be so difficult? I flew you to Egypt to get to know you better, bought you clothes and jewelry in hopes that it would lighten your mood, booked a private tour of the Great Pyramids and the Temple of Amun-re because you mentioned you wanted to go… what else can I do?! I empathize, I really do, but you aren't giving me any leeway. You want to know what danger it is? Fine. I can let you do whatever the hell it is you want to do but when Naraku finds out where you are and learns you aren't under my protection only then will you realize what a mistake you did. Let's just get this tour out of the way. I'll cancel Amun-re tomorrow and send you back to Japan."_

To the actual proposal:

 _"So what do you say, sweetheart? Will you be my missus?"_

While running on autopilot, Kagome opened her shrine door to be greeted by her grandfather, father, brother, Kikyo, Yura, and Sango.

"… hey?"

"YOU'RE BACK!" Kikyo squealed but was violently shoved aside by Souta who bounded for his sister.

"Sis!"

He tackled her. "You're alive! Oh man do _not_ shotgun shit like that, understand?"

Kagome giggled at her baby brother's protective streak. "Sorry, sorry, it was something I had to do."

Souta, at that moment, was violently shoved aside by an extraordinarily pregnant Sango who had spotted Kagome's rock. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"I didn't say—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Kagome felt like a ragdoll as her left arm was passed from one person to another. Kikyo made sure to take an extra ten seconds to admire her ring. "Whoa…"

"How did you all know I was coming home today?"

Sango waddled over to the sofa and carefully sat down. "Inuyasha's assistant called us—what was his name? Miroku… he sounds sexy. How does he look?"

Kagome shrugged. "No idea. I met only Kouga and Ginta…"

"Kagome—"

All eyes turned to Akira. Kagome took a step towards her dad… him taking a loan from Inuyasha was a catalyst, yes, but Kagome was beginning to realize that Inuyasha was going to have her as his wife regardless of what type of catalyst required.

And for that she could not remain upset at her father.

"I missed you too, daddy."

Tears welled in his eyes and he approached his daughter to hug her. He had been praying to hear those words since he learned of the pile of shit they were in—he lost his Korari, he couldn't lose his Kagome.

"I am so sorry!" He wept in their hug. "I shouldn't—I don't know what—"

"It's okay daddy. There are angles to this situation that I am just learning about," she pulled away and smiled brightly at her father. "How about we all have some food? It's ridiculous how much I've missed ramen."

Her revelation made her friends and family; that was their Kagome.

 _.xx._

Inuyasha pushed the double oak doors too his office open with his left hand while his gun was clutched tightly in his right—somebody was going to die. Inside, gagged and tied to a chair, in the center of his room was the very person he was hoping to see. Leaning against wall to the left was a smirking Kouga and Miroku was comfortably situated in his armchair.

"Hello, puppet." Inuyasha whispered, stepping in to the vicinity. Gently, he kicked his door shut.

Eyes wide and hysterical, the hostage attempted to struggle and free himself of the gag to plea for his life.

He was looking death in the eyes…

He was better acquainting himself with the Devil.

He was going to hell.

"Naraku's bitches are falling like fleas." Kouga spat while twirling his gun around his index finger. "Found this one crawling around a strip club."

Inuyasha's eyes flickered to Kouga and back to his victim.

"Hello, _Musou_."

The dark haired man struggled further but Inuyasha did not seem at all fazed by his torture. "Naraku needs to be a lot more careful of which pest he allows out of his sight." Inuyasha trailed the gun along Musou's cheek, cause the man's eyes to widen in absolute horror.

"I need you to do me a favour." Inuyasha crouched in front of him. Kouga was watching aptly but Miroku was oblivious; he was on his laptop tending to other matters.

"I need you to call Naraku and tell him to stay away… okay?"

Musou nodded frantically in hopes that his cooperation would allow him to keep his life. Inuyasha pulled the ties away from his gag and Musou inhaled deeply, unable to say anything to his soon-to-be murderer.

"You are associated with Naraku, which makes you an enemy to us." Inuyasha whispered. "Call him and tell him that you are alive and that we will not hurt you on the condition that he stays away from my wife, understood?"

Musou's eyes widened. "She—you—"

"My life is none of your concern. Do as I say," Inuyasha glanced at Kouga. "His phone, Kouga."

Pushing himself off of the wall, Kouga sauntered to Inuyasha with an iPhone in hand. "He's a dirty fucker—the types of pictures on his phone would make his mother blush."

Inuyasha merely smirked as he handed the phone to Musou. "Call. Speaker." Kouga took the liberty to untie one of the hostage's arm to allow him to heed Inuyasha's command.

And so the hostage did as he was told. It took five rings before the object of Inuyasha's vengeance answered: "Musou."

"S-s-sir!" Musou began stuttering. "He… Inuyasha has—"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. _Talk._ He mouthed. Musou gulped and looked down at the phone clutched in his left hand. "Inuyasha has me, sir."

"Oh?"

Naraku sounded as if he could care less.

"He has offered my life in exchange for you to stop pursuing his wife."

A deadly silence greeted them. Musou began shaking uncontrollably when his boss did not respond. "Sir… sir?!"

"Wife hmm?" Naraku finally spoke. "Her being his wife does not make a difference to me—and as for you? You do not deserve to live if you allow Inuyasha's men to capture you."

"Sir no!"

Inuyasha pulled back his trigger and pounded the bullet in Musou's skull. Without missing a beat Inuyasha picked the phone out of the corpse's hand. "I will see you soon, bastard."

"Make sure you bring your pretty little bride with you, Inuyasha."

Making a sound that was near animalistic, Inuyasha chucked Musou's phone against the wall causing it to shatter. Kouga glanced at the broken parts scattered over the floor before looking back at Musou. "Fuck, the cleanup job is gonna suck."

"Contact Kagome," Inuyasha's voice was tight. "Find the earliest date she wants to get married."

Kouga and Miroku exchanged surprised looks.

"Wants to?" Miroku echoed and Inuyasha shot him a nasty glare.

"Yes. It's her wedding too. Find the earliest date, choice of venue, and arrange it. Send some of our girls over at her convenience to go dress shopping—I want her to be under surveillance at all times. Understood?" Inuyasha kicked Musou's stomach as an outlet to release his anger.

"Kouga," Inuyasha looked over at his wingman. "You, Ginta, and Hakkaku are to be her guards, understood?"

"Yes sir." Kouga playfully saluted his boss. "Want me to arrange an encrypted phone for her?"

"Yes. Have us all on speed dial."

"Gotchya, and I'll get some of the cleaners up in here… by the way! I need next Friday off."

Miroku coughed knowing full well what was coming next. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "For?"

"Date with Princess Genevieve." Kouga's voice was practically dreamy which worried Inuyasha slightly—the life of his fiancée rested in this man's hands. If Inuyasha didn't personally know Kouga's capabilities, he would've honestly doubted him.

"I told you, she isn't interested."

"Then why did she agree to have dinner with me?!"

Miroku coughed, the sound curiously sounding like _coerced_. Inuyasha snickered. "Whatever Kouga, do what you must just ensure Kagome is under constant protection."

"Sick, awesome. Alright I'm out, I'm fucking exhausted." Kouga yawned loudly to prove his point and quickly made his escape before his boss could toss in a few more jobs for him. Inuyasha's shoulders sagged and he turned to Miroku…

Miroku, unknown to the rest of his staff, was his best friend. They grew up together and did everything together; when the rest of Inuyasha's ring of gangsters went home for the night, Miroku and Inuyasha's guards dropped and they became the 18 year old boys that they once were.

"This is exhausting, man." Inuyasha stepped over the corpse to sit down on a chair opposite Miroku.

"You're doing your best, Yasha." An old nickname. "But you gonna tell me what is going on?"

Miroku and Kouga knew that Naraku was a threat to Inuyasha, and had been for some time. But based on recent events, Miroku was able to deduce that Inuyasha's animosity with Naraku was far deeper than he led on… and it involved Kagome specifically.

Inuyasha clearly did not want to divulge in to the details and, as an employee and best friend, Miroku was not going to press.

"Not yet."

"I'm here for you."

"Man, I know." Inuyasha slouched low in his chair. "But I can't tell you."

Miroku nodded slowly. "Understood. Anyway, I'll make some calls tomorrow to speed up the wedding process—you couldn't meet with Shikon partners, right?"

"Nah, Kouga's call made me fly home early."

"That's fine. I'll rearrange the meeting. Lady Urasue sent a few of her men to our HQ to finalize your meeting so everything is going smoothly." Miroku stood up. "Go home, get some rest, and take the rest of the day off. I'll wipe your schedule for the night, sounds good?"

"Sounds perfect." Inuyasha stood and followed Miroku out of his office.

He was already planning on seeing Kagome that night…

 _.xx._

 **Half way through writing I started listening to my Inuyasha Wind Symphonic Orchestra and let me tell you how the inspiration slapped me… Anyway here is you guys' treat for being so patient! A quick update :D**


	17. To Banter with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To_ _Banter with the Devil_

Colours of red and orange painted the sky. Kagome was lying in her bedroom exhausted from the events of the last three days; it was a lot to travel to another country, get proposed to, and come back—but _damn_ did it feel nice, regardless of how convenient the marriage was supposed to be (or, in her case, inconvenient).

Kagome was staring at her ring, unable to get over how beautiful it was. And the inscription!

 _The sun may set;  
The stars may die…  
Our love is eternal  
I can see it in your eyes._

Her gut clenched upon reading the inscription over and over again. Inuyasha's grandfather, Muteki, was smitten over his wife and, from the story Kagome heard, was ready to die for her. She didn't know the depths of Inuyasha's desire to protect her, but she was pretty sure he would not give up his life for hers…

Such a love would probably never exist in her life.

Her shoulders sagged. She didn't know her future with Inuyasha; was she going to divorce him? Stay with him? _Love_ him?

"Doubt it."

Kagome pushed herself off of her bed, intent on partaking in her nightly rituals: dance to one of her routines, take a bubble bath with aromatic incense, and curl up in bed with a cup of milk and a good book, eventually going to sleep. It was something she hadn't done in a while and was damn well looking forward to doing it.

She had barely tied her hair up when her phone began ringing.

 _Sexiest husband in the known universe calling_

Kagome glowered at the caller ID name for a brief second. _How does he manage to take my phone and make up such insufferable caller ID displays?!_

Not wanting the call to go to her voicemail (but wanting it to go to voicemail at the same time), Kagome answered.

"Higurashi speaking."

"You need to get used to saying _Takahashi_ speaking."

Kagome rolled her eyes in a more-than-necessary exaggerated fashion. She plopped down on her bed, putting a hold to her nightly ritual so she could engage in conversation with her now fiancé. It was an odd sensation, really; she wanted to speak to him because he was her fiancé and he was… _kind of_ sweet, but at the same time she wanted to do what was her norm: dance, bathe, read book, sleep.

But, alas, she had to come to accept that Inuyasha was now her new norm.

"Whenever that should happen, I will start saying it. Until then I am a Higurashi, so deal with it."

His chuckle was low and sultry. "Fine, accepted. But in exchange you need to accept having dinner with me."

Kagome's eyes flickered to the wall clock in her room. It was half past ten at night.

"It's almost eleven, Takahashi."

"Inuyasha."

Kagome snorted. "Fine, let me repeat: it's almost eleven, _Inuyasha_."

Inuyasha was already driving his car to Kagome's while donning his usually impeccably tailored suit and hair pulled back in his signature impeccably perfect braid. He knew Kagome was not going to say no to him, no matter what time of night it was—but he'd be _damned_ if she pulled another incident like when they went to _Basil_ together. The woman had gall, if he did say so himself.

"I'm aware, Kagome." He turned a sharp left. "But your interest is piqued."

Kagome rolled onto her back and curled up into a tight little ball. "Whether it is piqued or not, Inuyasha, does not mean that I agree to having dinner with you at _almost_ midnight. Besides, what were you up to earlier? Why now?"

With a quick right, Inuyasha was parked in front of Kagome's shrine. "I had business to attend to. Remember, we were recalled from vacation due to an emergency?"

Kagome made a sound similar to _hmmm_. "That's right. Big bad mob lord, gotchya. Well, sorry to burst you bubble, kingpin—"

"That's my favourite endearment, I must say."

Kagome ignored the fact that he blatantly interrupted her. "But I cannot agree to having dinner with you when I am beyond exhausted. We flew in from Egypt today, for love's sake!"

Before she could even complete her sentence, the sound of the shrine's doorbell reverberated throughout the interior. Eyes widening, Kagome scampered off of the bed and slid her bedroom door open; nobody in the house stirred (thankfully), and the doorbell did not sound again.

The sound of his chuckle echoed through her ear. "Aren't you going to open it, sweetheart?"

Scowling, Kagome quietly slid her door shut. "You are such a creep. Give me fifteen, I'll be down."

"Wear something appropriate, will you? I can't have my fiancée parading around town wearing vulgar attire." Inuyasha made reference to her ballsy move when he originally took her out to dinner not too long ago. Kagome's voice hiccupped indicating that she was trying to hold back her laughter.

 _That woman…_

"Fine, I believe that's only fair since you did fly me to Egypt, proposed to me, and unexpectedly flew me back because you probably had to kill somebody." Although her voice dripped with sarcasm, she couldn't have been more right. But, as Inuyasha had promised in his proposal, he would never allow his world to coincide with hers; Kagome's life was her own and she would not be mixed up with the politics that came with running the underworld.

Never mind the fact that their marriage was the result of a deranged psycho that operated _in_ Inuyasha's world…

But that, Kagome did not need to know.

"Quit your whining, woman. I'll give you a half hour, come down."

"Right, right. Bye. Ass."

Shaking his head, Inuyasha hung up the call and began his descent down the steps of the shrine. She was a character alright. _She tries to keep up a strong front, but she seems to be a very sweet and caring woman underneath it all._ And if Miroku's research told him anything it was when Kagome loved, she loved fiercely.

 _I promised Aunt Korari I'd always protect you._ Inuyasha approached his car and leaned his back against the driver side door. _And I know I gave you the option of leaving me but I won't let you—I can't let you._

Inuyasha fisted his hands and, subconsciously, slammed one of them back against the body of his vehicle. _But I can't force you to stay… so that could only mean one thing…_

He had to get her to _want_ to stay. And the only way to do that?

Love her.

And be loved in return.

 _Fuck me hard._

 _.xx._

It surprised Inuyasha to no end when Kagome beautifully appeared beside him at the base of her shrine and greeted him with a peck on the lips. Not one to be caught off guard, Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a much deeper kiss. Once again he was pleasantly surprised when Kagome returned his advances.

"Ready to go?"

Inuyasha shook his head and ushered at her furry trench coat. "Too hot to be wearing that. Off."

Kagome blushed knowing _why_ he was making her take off her jacket. But nope! "No way. It's a surprise."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Kagome…"

She waved her arm and snaked around him to get to the passenger side. "Will you trust me? Jeez, I'm your _fiancée_ now, making you look stupid makes _me_ look stupid."

Inuyasha got in just after she slammed the door of the passenger side shut. He regarded her with a wary look of despair and shook his head in impatience. "You do realize that if you were _anybody_ else, your brains would've been _all_ over my window?"

With a wink, Kagome pulled out her phone. "Yes, I do realize. But aren't I a lucky kitten for being your fiancée and not your enemy? You can't blow my brains out, now can you? By the way, can I change my Facebook status to enga—HEY!"

Inuyasha reached over and plucked her phone out of her hand. With no effort at all, Inuyasha snapped her phone in half and threw the remains onto his backseat. "There." And, as anticipated, he was greeted with Kagome's fiery glare.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

"It's dangerous to keep an unencrypted phone, especially now that you're my fiancée."

"But did you have to—"

"Yes, I did. Your phone was already hacked."

"You can't know that!"

"I can know that. And I did know that. Miroku has an encrypted phone ready for you."

"BUT MY PICTURES!"

Inuyasha wanted to laugh but kept his composure. Seeing her in distress amused him, particularly because he knew that she had nothing to be distressed _over_. He brought his left hand over and covered her fisted hand. "Will you relax and trust _me_? I had Miroku hack your phone to see how safe it is, which it isn't because he's the worst hacker in my _ring of gangsters_ as you like to call it." Inuyasha felt her hand relax slightly but she refused to look at him.

"We transferred your contacts and pictures onto your new phone. He'll be delivering it to us tonight."

"You can't hack my phone."

"Better me than my enemies."

"You could've asked."

"You would've said no."

"But you wouldn't have listened anyway."

He squeezed her hand. "No, I wouldn't have."

His response was met with silence, but Inuyasha was okay with that. He knew he was chipping at her slowly and despite having a rocky start, he knew that she was beginning to let him in. But the question that plagued his mind was would _he_ be able to let _her_ in?

 _.xx._

 _Honekui no Ido_ , Kagome should've known. It was Midoriko's restaurant, the very same where she was Inuyasha's plus one and was (surprisingly, but not at all) introduced as his fiancée. It should've been a surprise that the restaurant was open so late, but Kagome could make a very educated guess that Inuyasha pulled some strings and was able to gain access to the vicinity after hours.

Her suspicions were confirmed: "Midoriko did me a favour and allowed me entrance after closing."

Kagome nodded. "I thought so. At least this time it _isn't_ a lie that I'm your fiancée."

The rumble from his chest warmed Kagome to her core. Fine, she wasn't afraid to admit that the man had a beautiful laugh and even more beautiful voice. His tactics in life, however, were something to question. Perhaps a small lesson in tact would help him with any future endeavours he chose to embark upon…

 _Or maybe he sucks at real life but is super good at gangster-warlord-kingpin-mob-king-killer life?_

Perhaps.

"Did Kouga or Miroku call you today?"

The question came out of the blue as Inuyasha unbuckled his seatbelt. Kagome copied him, also unfastening her belt.

"I got a missed call from Miroku but when I tried calling back, the line was busy?"

Inuyasha nodded, knowing full well that she called him right as he dropped his phone in a sink and totally fried it. It happened right in front of him, actually, and the mob lord was on his knees laughing like he'd never laughed before. Miroku wasn't a believer in backing up phones and whatnot and, unfortunately for him, the phone was declared written off. Poor Miroku had to start his black book of contacts from scratch.

" _Told you to back that shit up, idiot."_ Kouga had scoffed which caused Inuyasha to, involuntarily, laugh even harder.

"No matter, we can discuss it tonight."

Kagome began to push the passenger door open but halted when Inuyasha called for her to stop. She watched as he approached her side of the vehicle, and pulled the door open. "My lady."

"Chivalry isn't dead, I see?"

He winked and extended his hand out to her. Without hesitation, Kagome took it.

"It is dead, I just treat my woman with class."

"How many women?"

He brought her fingers up to his lips. "Just you."

"Your attempt at seducing me is failing, Takahashi."

"Ahh, but I'm not trying to seduce you." Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her waist and threw his keys at the waiting valet. "I am simply expressing my feelings towards my to-be wife."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "To-be because you kept stalking me, pressuring me to say yes."

"I wasn't stalking." He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Besides, it doesn't mean I can't woo you."

"Which is akin to seducing."

"Not even _close_."

Kagome bit her lip trying to prevent herself from laughing. She had to admit that ever since she loosened up, bantering with Inuyasha was quite entertaining. He kept her on her toes (as she did him, she liked to believe) and it never ceased to amuse her. Not that she _liked_ it, she didn't _want_ to like it but deep down inside she knew she did.

Inuyasha could hold a conversation, and that was a very important trait for her to have in a mate.

Inuyasha guided them to a couple's place setting not too far from where they sat during the grand opening of the restaurant. Kagome spotted a few bodyguards situated around the circumference of the room as well as some waiters. _Protection,_ she mused before looking away from Inuyasha's men.

Her fiancé held her chair out for her and graciously offered for her to sit with a sweep of his hand and a small bow. Smirking, Kagome began to tug at the ties of her coat. Her movement caught Inuyasha's attention—was she wearing a vulgar outfit, or one that required him to peel off of her perfectly milky skin?

His breath caught in his throat when she revealed a floor length ruby red dress. The neckline was deep, brushing past the bulge of her breasts and landing just at her naval while the back left nothing to the imagination; it was completely open. The silky material hugged every curve of her body, only flaring out just past her knees. A long slit ran from her left leg up to the thigh, showing off her endless legs and black pumps.

"Kagome…" His voice was raspy and gravelly with desire. Without warning he leaned forward and caught her lips viciously with his, running his tongue over her plumpness to gain access into her mouth. Kagome tilted her head back but allowed him no access; he had to work to get what he wanted.

Inuyasha, however, was clearly not impressed with her antics. "Dammit, woman! You kissed me earlier!"

"And now I'm not." She winked at him, a dangerous feat, and sat upon the seat he so graciously offered her. "What's for dinner?"

 _You little… I'll show you… two can play_ _ **this**_ _game._

 _.xx._

 **Aaaaannnnnd?**


	18. To Comply with the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Comply with the Devil_

Inuyasha settled into his seat and flagged down a waiter that was walking the circumference of the room, waiting to be beckoned. Midoriko staffed some of her best waiters and chefs when she heard that Inuyasha wanted to rent the venue for the evening. Though she wanted to give him a discount, as he was an old family friend, he insisted on paying full price for the duration of his time in _Ido_.

"Good evening, Mr. Takahashi." The waiter bowed and turned to Kagome. "Miss. Higurashi. Would you like me to go over the chef specials we have for this evening?"

Inuyasha nodded curtly. "Please do, but first may we have two tall glasses of water please—we will place orders momentarily."

The waiter nodded. "Immediately, sir." And he scurried off to get their water. Kagome leaned back in her seat and gently placed her hands on the table, accentuating all of her curves in a way that made Inuyasha's blood rage with need.

It had been a _very_ long time since he was with a woman. Sure he had women come in and out of his room (as Miroku and Kouga would claim), but none of them ended the way his loins wanted them to. They were simply there for physical gratification without going through with the whole thing.

He was a hot-blooded man, after all. His promise to Korari Higurashi, however, superseded everything else in his life.

Even his own needs.

"You are clearly one end of the spectrum, or the other." Inuyasha was leaned back in his chair, his left leg stretching out beside the dinner table and his right bent just a tad beneath his chair. His left fingers drummed the table while he, effectively, pushed his right hand into his pocket.

"Either visually appalling or, visually _appealing_."

Kagome did nothing to hide her amusement. She leaned in, just slightly as if she was going to reveal a secret, and winked at Inuyasha. "I like to keep my men on their toes."

His chuckled reverberated through the dining hall. "How many men, sweetheart?"

"A woman must never disclose her number." The banter was light and teasing, but enough to elicit a meaningful conversation… of sorts. "Even to her future spouse who is the most feared man in all of _everywhere._ "

Inuyasha smirked but his posture did not change. "I prefer to use the word _revered_ , not feared."

"Religious leaders are revered, emperors are revered… _celebrities_ are revered." Kagome countered. " _You_ are feared."

"I must say that I do concur with your statement." Inuyasha tipped his head to the waiter that returned with their water. The waiter mentioned giving them a few more moments before hurrying off, once again. "But in _my_ world, I most certainly am revered."

"By your people." _Damn this woman has a response to everything._ "You are revered by _your_ followers, but feared by your enemies."

"But isn't that the case with any person that is followed by the public?" Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "They are either revered or feared, depending on who you are asking?"

Kagome nodded and flicked invisible dust off of her lap. "I suppose, but we are talking about you and _you_ are feared. End conversation."

"Fine, end conversation, but we were discussing your number and it intrigues me that you are seeking to keep it a secret when Miroku did research on _everything_." Inuyasha stressed the last word causing Kagome to roll her eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

Her retort was ready. "He might've done _research_ , but how are you possibly able to figure out how many romp-partners I may have had? Would you be contacting all of my previous relationships and inquire?" Kagome leaned back, her left eyebrow cocked. "I wonder how that might sound?" Inuyasha was too busy running his eyes over the curves of her body to pay attention to what she was saying. " _This is Miroku Lin from the office of Half Demon Enterprises… we would like to know if you ever had sex with Higurashi Kagome because the kingpin of all kingpins wants to marry her. Speak now or forever hold your peace_."

Inuyasha tore his eyes away from the bulge of her breast to the endless pools of her eyes. "Yeah, something to that effect. Besides, I need to know who I need to eliminate for having the privilege of my wife's body."

"You did not exist in my life, so therefore this body wasn't yours. Besides," Kagome smirked, "why would you entertain the notion that we'd engage in naughty activities?"

"Because you won't be able to resist me."

"Is that a fact?"

His smirk widened. "Indeed it is." Inuyasha relished this side of her. She harboured no inhibitions and spoke to him as an equal, not an inferior or superior. She wasn't hurling threats at him, or being a little brat, or defying him in ridiculous ways… granted Inuyasha wasn't being a jerk either so that probably contributed to the fact that she was being amicable.

"I would like to say that your fact is incorrect." Kagome took a sip of her water, the imprint of her lipstick sticking to the rim of her glass. "I find it a miracle that I'm even here, _dating_ you—"

"We're engaged, dating comes with the territory."

Kagome ignored him. "So for you to be thinking we'd… _hanky-panky_ is—"

If there was water in his mouth, he'd have spat it out. Was that _really_ her choice of words to replace _sex_? No matter, Inuyasha knew Kagome was a quirky woman, and for her to replace the word sexual intercourse with hanky-panky should not have surprised him at the least.

Inuyasha's wandering train of thought caused him to miss the latter half of Kagome's sentence.

 _She probably was referring to how incredulous the idea is that we, as a married couple, would not consummate our marriage._ Inuyasha, however, had no intention of honouring that request of hers. He would be willing to do _many_ things for her, as she would be his wife, but compromising the act of making love? Never. He had gone too long without it for _her_ , he'd be damned if he went even further.

The waiter reappeared. "Is the gentleman and lady ready? Would you like me to go over our specials this evening?"

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow in Kagome's direction. "Would you like to hear the special, sweetheart?"

Kagome, who had taken a split second to glance over the _fish_ section of the menu, shook her head. She was craving salmon ever since she stepped foot into Midoriko's restaurant that evening. "No, I believe I'm ready."

And, so, Inuyasha nodded, refused to hear the special, and the two ordered. Kagome opted for the slow-roasted salmon with baked potatoes and a creamy polenta. Inuyasha went straight for the man-steak, completed with potato wedges and a tall bottle of beer. It didn't surprise Kagome at all.

"So," Kagome wiggled closer to the table and crossed her arms, just at the edge of the tabletop and leaned forward. She wasn't aware of how that small gesture made her breasts plump up, but Inuyasha was _very_ well aware. "Why did Miroku call me earlier?"

Inuyasha blinked and tore his eyes away from her breast. "That? Ohh…"

Right. _The real reason why I needed to bring her out…_

Apart from getting to know her, that is. But that went without saying.

Clearing his throat, Inuyasha used his left hand to loosen his tie slightly before resting it back on the table. "I promised you that I would not involve you in my _world,_ " he saw Kagome nod. "But, as you can understand, it is very difficult—and it will be even more so going forward, as you'd be my wife." Inuyasha's eyes flickered to one of his bodyguards pacing just at the northeastern side of the room. "The police are trying to pinpoint something on me, but they can't… my enemies are always trying to get me, which would make you a great target for them, but Kouga and his boys are always keeping an eye on you." Inuyasha added the last bit in when he saw her eyes widen in fear. "And I have men turning on me all the time."

"What makes you think Kouga won't?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha could appreciate that it was a very legitimate question.

"Your concern is valid, but he won't. I've known him and Miroku for, almost, my entire life. Miroku longer… they aren't bound to me because of pay or security. It's loyalty that keeps them here—they are _my_ liabilities because anybody who knows me knows I rely on them, and trust them, with my life." Inuyasha saw Kagome nod tightly and knew concerns still persisted in her mind.

He would tend to them when the time came.

"The reason why we had to come back early was… because of a potential threat to you."

"WHAT?!"

"The threat is eliminated!" Inuyasha hurriedly added. "But it was an eye opener for me and I wanted to ask you—" he never asked _anybody anything_ … It went to show how much he really cared for the woman before him.

How much her opinion of him mattered…

"If you'd be okay with pushing our wedding up to the earliest date you'd like?"

Kagome was stunned. She hadn't expected him _ask_ her about the date of their wedding, considering that he all but _forced_ her to agree to marry him.

"You pick the venue, everything associated with wedding planning, and I'll make the payments. Let me know where and when, and I'll be there." Inuyasha silently prayed that he played his cards right. He knew with Kagome he had to take another approach; a caring, considerate, and softer approach, so forcing her to do something against her will was a surefire way of ensuring Kagome _didn't_ do what he wanted.

Inuyasha felt like he was sucked into a vacuum—Kagome was zoned out; her eyes were downcast, her fingers drumming the tabletop, and her involuntary chewing of her bottom lip. Kagome was clearly trying to comprehend everything Inuyasha just said to her and all he could do was wait…

Which he was not used to.

Inuyasha was used to getting what he wanted whenever he wanted it. Patience was a virtue that he simply did not have but, as he realized with his now-fiancée, he needed to somehow gain the virtue of patience and exercise it with her relentlessly.

 _What if she refuses?_ The thought never occurred to him. He naturally assumed Kagome would be gung ho about his proposition of upping their wedding date to as-soon-as-humanly-possible. Would she really say no?

 _I mean I wouldn't give her the option to say no but… that'd only put me back to square one with her._ He was silently hoping that she would just make it easy for him and schedule their wedding for yesterday.

After what felt like an eternity, Kagome finally spoke. "What danger?"

"I can't tell you that…"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows. "Does it have to do with Naraku? Or the situation with my mother?"

Inuyasha felt his throat tighten. She hit the nail on the head, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"Again, I cannot tell you anything. All you can know is that there is an imminent danger and I want to ensure that you are safe." He studied her. He watched the twitches and tremors in her face, the way her brows furrowed in caution, how her lips puckered with confusion.

He was memorizing all the little quirks about her.

"What about Souta, my dad, grandfather, Sango and the baby?" Inuyasha knew that her primary concern would be that of everybody else. But Naraku wasn't after _anybody_ else but her.

"They will be fine." He promised. "They aren't in danger—"

"Which makes no sense." She cut him off but immediately clamped her mouth shut when the waiter appeared with their orders. After a brief moment of silence, the waiter left with his serving tray and the aromatic scents of their dinner assaulted her senses.

But it did nothing to leave her mouth watering. Her attention was focused solely on Inuyasha and his proposition.

"What makes no sense?" Inuyasha prompted while Kagome simultaneously inhaled deeply.

"Why would _I_ solely be in danger and not, say, my brother? He, too, is my mother's son."

"Legitimate question, but I cannot answer."

Kagome wanted to flip the table, but she kept her cool. "What **can** you answer?" Maybe that was a better question versus asking away and receiving the same response: _I cannot answer_.

 _He sounds like a broken record._ Kagome though distastefully. _How the hell am I supposed to deal with cryptic?_

The devil's advocate in her head chirped in: _He did promise you that he wouldn't get you involved in his world, so cryptic is all he_ can _do_.

"Anything not related to my world, or your mother—for one year." Inuyasha repeated his condition firmly, with no chance of wavering. Kagome needed to understand that the less she knew the better until everything was sorted out.

He didn't want to rob her of having a _normal_ life…

 _Well, as normal as being the wife of a kingpin could be_.

"So basically nothing."

The corners of his lips tugged. "I wouldn't say _nothing_ …" He let the innuendo hang in the hair.

His comment was met with Kagome's exaggerated eye roll. Deciding to ignore him for a moment, Kagome bit into her mouthwatering salmon. If she could close her eyes and moan loudly, she would… but Kagome did not. The last thing she wanted to do was make potential questionable noises while in the presence of her dangerously-revered fiancé.

Inuyasha could only watch in amusement. His steak lay before him but he made no move to cut into it. The only thing he did was take a swig of his beer before resting it down on a doily coaster.

"Tastes good?"

Kagome's eyes flickered up to locked onto his golden eyes before looking back down at her food.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Midoriko." Kagome finally revealed.

Inuyasha latched on like an eel. "So you enjoyed the last event?" He wanted to find out everything about her _from_ her. Not from Miroku's research, not from his trusted sources, but from his to-be wife herself. What made her who she was? She was, from what he knew, a loving and kindhearted woman who gave, gave, and gave with no expectation of receiving anything. Much like her mother...

But Inuyasha wanted to learn all of that from her, not from Miroku's extensive research.

A ghostly smile filled her face. "More or less… until the bomb was dropped."

"I didn't lie… simply fabricated the truth."

"Of course." Kagome sipped on the beautiful white wine that she ordered to pair off with her salmon. "So back to the topic at hand—tell me about yourself."

Bemused, Inuyasha leaned back in his chair and rested his hands behind his head. "I don't believe we were talking about me, love."

"Don't call me that."

He chose to ignore her. "What concerns do you have? Come, now, better you voice it now versus later."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "I don't like being kept in the dark. You can keep your own illegal shit to yourself, but when it concerns my health and life, I have the right to know."

"You do," he nodded, "but your health and life is interconnected with my, as you put, _illegal shit._ Therefore you should not and cannot know until I deem you ready."

"That's hardly fair."

"Life isn't fair, sweetheart. You of all people should know that."

She hated his guts, but she also promised herself that she was going to be amicable at the least. Did she want to push up the wedding? No, not at all but she didn't even want to get married to him to _begin_ with. They also had to fly back to Japan for an _unknown_ reason, which Kagome could easily guess to be related to his _side_ business, and all of a sudden he wanted to bring up a nonexistent wedding date, so it was safe to bet that there really was something wrong. And fighting against what would be the inevitable was useless, so it was in her best interest to comply and be a jerk later.

Kagome mustered up all the nonchalant she had in her, and shrugged.

"Life is cruel. I believe that fairy tales were created to give little girls a false sense of hope—do I like it? No." Kagome set her fork down. "But if I have a daughter am I going to strip her of childish fantasies? Of course not, but I do intend to teach her that life is not happily-ever-after."

"Our daughter _will_ have a happily ever after."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Children are the direct result of hanky-panky without safety."

A toothy grin spread across his face. "Precisely."

"Ugh, pig."

"Get used to it, sweetheart."

She chose not to feed him any more reasons to jibe at her decision of no consummating the marriage. "So, yes, I know very well that life is not fair at all."

"Can we segue back to the _actual_ topic at hand?" Inuyasha had absolutely no intention of eating his food. "Are you okay with pushing the date of the wedding?"

Kagome was going to try a new thing she called _be-brutally-honest-with-Inuyasha_. Would it get her killed? Sure, if she wasn't going to be his wife, so she decided to push his limits. Clearly he wasn't okay with vulgar clothing, but he did enjoy lack thereof clothing (case and point: her very revealing red ensemble).

So she said what was on her mind. "Am I okay with it? No."

Inuyasha looked so taken aback that Kagome wanted to laugh. Self-control, though, was a wonderful thing. "Do I accept your plea? Yes. We can push the nonexistent wedding date up."

"I wasn't _pleaing_."

"Pleaing is not a word, Inuyasha."

"Wait—did you just say you're okay with moving the date _up_?!"

Kagome snorted. "I said I wasn't okay with it, but I'd do—" she was cut off when, somehow, Inuyasha appeared beside her and tilted her head back to envelope her lips with his own. She didn't want to feel it, but she felt safe. A warm sensation, like a hearth with crackling embers, filled her to the tips of her fingers.

Inuyasha's fingers curled around the back of her neck and he managed to pull her just that much closer. His other hand travelled down her silky soft skin, along everywhere that he had been eyeing all evening…

Finally.

She was his.

 _.xx._

 **And... voila :D**


	19. To Know the Henchmen of the Devil

**To Dance with the Devil**

 _If there was anything Kagome learned it was that when one danced with the devil, they never won; even if the so-called devil was their husband, notorious and elite gangster, Takahashi Inuyasha. Too bad Kagome was stuck with him, till death do them part._

 _.xx._

 _To Know the Henchmen of the Devil_

"Our recital time is coming up!" Kagome clapped with enthusiasm as she sat in front of a dozen or so parents. She was scheduled to lead the monthly parent-teacher meetings for the dance studio and, despite having the odd parent that complained about the lack of progress regarding their child, Kagome loved meeting with the parents. It was always a pleasure to see their absolute excitement when she talked about how great their little babies were doing and how far along they've come from when Kagome first met them.

A regular parent, kind-hearted, warm, and loving, grinned broadly. Her smile lit up the room… it always did.

"This is so exciting! Do we have songs yet?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, that's the fun part. For parents who are interested, I would love if you guys compiled a song list and have a parent mix it together for our kids. That way it will give them the notion that mommies and daddies are all in for their love of dancing."

A quiet dad piped up. "I used to DJ during my college days. I could mix something up."

Another mom clapped her hands. "My brother's fiancée's cousin has a knack for picking songs that'll mesh well together. Maybe you and him could collab?"

The quiet dad nodded with a goofy grin on his face. Kagome always loved when parents were just as excited about their kids' dance lessons as the children were themselves. The parents talked amongst themselves when a typically snobby but relatively nice mom spoke up.

"Is this a parents-only event or a large recital?"

Kagome shrugged. "Typically parents only, but if we can advertise for a bigger group and come up with funds for a theatre, we definitely can make it a large recital. Historically we just keep it to our studio and bring in chairs."

The somewhat-snobby-but-nice mom chewed on her bottom lip. "Will you take sponsors?"

Kagome's eyes widened. "Pardon me?" She wasn't expecting _that_ mother of all the mothers present to offer a sponsor for the recital. Snobby-but-nice mom hardly ever made it out to parent-teacher meets.

"Sponsors." She repeated. "I would love for the whole world to see our kids' talent. My little Yukino has improved so greatly and her confidence is remarkable!"

Kagome's heart swelled and a few other parents offered their praise as well. It was great to know that dance lessons were giving her kids confidence and encouragement for their day-to-day life. It meant that Kagome's purpose was being fulfilled; all she wanted were for her kids to excel in life, no matter how young they may be.

The mom who had a connection stood up. "My brother's fiancée's cousin also knows scouts for prestigious dance academies! Maybe we can get them to come and give us their two yens? Who knows… our kids could be the next big thing!"

Excited chatter erupted in the room and Kagome had to blink back tears of happiness. The group in front of her had to be most engaged set of parents that Kagome ever had the pleasure of working with… and that made her job so much easier.

"I also have mentors at my college," Kagome offered. "If we do get a big enough venue, I can get my professors and instructors to attend as well." It did help that Kagome was a student to a very elite and prestigious dance academy. She was also off for a term to work on a dance project as part of her final dissertation—publish an article on a dance style of her choice (Kagome chose jazz), including history and origins, adaptations over the years, iconic dancers and dance moves, and incorporation to two other types of dances (Kagome chose ballet and interpretive). Accompanying the paper she had to choreograph a three to four minute routine and present it in front of a panel of judges. The top three performers will receive a one year contract with the TV Japan as a lead backup dancer with the potential of being a junior choreographer.

"That's excellent!" Snobby-but-nice squealed. "I can find donors and donate a hefty sum myself."

It didn't surprise Kagome that that particular mom used the word _hefty_ to describe her potential donation. She was snobby-but-nice after all.

A light rapping at the door tore Kagome away from the parents. It was Yura.

"Inuyasha on the main line for you." Yura revealed and Kagome nodded. She exchanged places with Yura, Kagome going to the front desk to take the call and direct anybody that should enter their school, and Yura would take over the meeting.

Kagome did want to ignore him… slightly… but she knew that would be going against the new leaf she had turned: be nice but speak her mind and don't be a pushover. So far she was doing well, but she really had no basis to compare her feeling to.

 _.xx._

"Higurashi but future Takahashi speaking." She greeted her fiancé and was met with untamed laughter.

"I can live with that," he drawled. Inuyasha was sitting at his desk, tie limp around his next, and twirling a pen between his fingers. The drywall guy was patching the holes in his wall (courtesy of Kouga's service call), and the flooring people were redoing the entire layout of his room (courtesy of Miroku's service call).

Otherwise, it was a relatively slow day for him.

"How can I help you?" Kagome tried to remain professional but Inuyasha was having none of it.

"Busy today sweetheart?"

"I'm at work… then I have school work to do." She hadn't worked on her project for quite some time and, frankly, she didn't want to postpone her work until the last minute. She really wanted that contract.

"Right," Inuyasha sung. "You're in school. That tidbit slipped my mind."

"Slipped mine too. Being whisked away to Egypt, getting proposed to, and being told your wedding date needs to be as soon as possible lest you want to die can do that to you." Kagome began putting some of Yura's filing away; paid invoices to the left, outstanding to the right, and pending to the far left.

"Touché. Will you be able to spare me a few hours this afternoon?"

"Honestly? Probably not… but what's it for?"

"Wedding planning… I was hoping we could check some venues out today and figure out a date?" Inuyasha warily eyed the man trying to lay some hardwood down on his floor. The choice of pattern was revolting and he made a mental note to speak to Miroku about it.

Inuyasha heard Kagome sigh through the receiver. "I was hoping to get my work done…"

He didn't want to pressure her. Kagome had been doing well in accommodating him for the past few days. "That's alright. I'll give your number to the three planners I've hired, and my brother's significant other as well, all four ladies will be at your disposal."

Kagome _hmm_ 'd. She was kind of feeling bad but squashed that sensation. He couldn't demand her presence and expect her to be readily available for him. "Sounds good."

"Rin, my sister-in-law, will give you a shout today. The other three girls, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, will contact you when Rin gives them the greenlight." Inuyasha instructed.

"Sounds fair."

"Do you have a date planned out yet?"

"Not yet, but when I pick one you'll be the first to know."

His chuckle was delicious. "I would hope so, seeing as I'm the groom—" Inuyasha was interrupted when he heard somebody in the background calling for Kagome.

"Kagome! Mrs. Yamamato made a few calls and we have enough money to rent the amphitheater!" Yamamato was snobby-but-nice mom.

"… _already_?! I haven't even called the school yet to see if I can get my talent scouts!"

"But Mrs. Yun called her brother's fiancée's cousin and he has five talent scouts lined up. They said something about loving to see the future of dance." Mrs. Yun was the mom that knew somebody who knew somebody.

"But the recital date isn't even picked!"

"Everybody wants it for the fifteenth of next month."

"THAT SOON?!" Kagome groaned and turned back to the phone. "Sorry, Inuyasha, is it okay if I call you back?"

"Trouble?"

"Not really, just excited parents. The semi-annual recital is coming up and it's a bigger shindig than ever before." Kagome rubbed her temples. "Usually I do a little thing at the studio, but apparently now we already have enough money for the amphitheater _and_ five talent scouts ready to attend the show. So I pretty much have to choreograph five different numbers by the fifteenth of next month, _plus_ do my schoolwork _and_ plan a wedding."

"Let me make a few calls."

"Don't you dare!"

"Talk to you tonight, sweetheart." And he hung up. Kagome withheld her scream and gently put the receiver down. If that man made any calls that had _anything_ to do with the word _illegal_ , his funeral would be before his wedding, and that was a promise.

 _Ok a few breaths._ Kagome instructed herself. _Maybe I can talk the parents out of the fifteenth. I mean… it's going to be difficult…_

Composing herself, Kagome reentered the meeting room, ready to object to any requests that would be difficult to accommodate.

 _.xx._

Kagome was sitting upside down on her couch, her legs thrown over the backrest and her head dangling a few inches from the floor. Souta was laughing hysterically and Sango shook her head in pity for her best friend.

"So the recital is in a month, the amphitheater is booked, five scouts will be attending and two of your professors?" Sango reiterated. Kagome nodded and tried to slouch in her position. It didn't work out too well.

"You were overrun by the masses, sis." Souta sighed. "It'll be great advertisement though."

"YES, but I'm _choreographing_ it all. Plus planning a wedding."

"The wedding can wait." Sango shrugged. "It won't be for a few mo—"

"He wants it as soon as possible." Kgaome mumbled. She hadn't intended of telling her family that he wanted to up the date, Kagome was just anticipating on surprising them with a super-early wedding date, but she couldn't keep that information to herself any longer. "I was thinking of picking the twenty-first."

Souta scrambled to sit up and Sango dropped the cookie she was munching on slowly. The air in the room stilled and Kagome though it would be a great time to sit up—besides, the blood rushing to her head was beginning to give her a headache.

"As soon as—twenty-first—" Sango's eyes were slowly widening. "Kagome, that's _seven days away_! YOU CANNOT GET MARRIED IN A WEEK!"

"I can." Kagome shrugged, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible. "Remember the extent of his net worth?"

Souta was trying not to see red. "But why next week?! What the hell, Kagome! You just got engaged!"

"And marriage typically follows shortly thereafter." Kagome cracked her neck. "He wanted it ASAP and I figured it'd happen one day or another, so why not one day versus another?"

"And why the twenty-first?"

"First day of summer." Kagome revealed. "My favourite season."

"And _ruin_ that day for you?" Souga was beyond enraged. Was that stupid mob lord brainwashing his sister?! "And after you two call it quits you'll remember the first day of summer to always be the day you got married to eventually get divorced."

Kagome hadn't considered Souta's point, but she was mentally committed and was going to stick to her guns. "Fair, but my decision has been made. Besides, it'd only ruin the _day_ , not the season."

Sango was choosing to remain silent. It was Kagome's decision after all… she knew that it would be difficult to sway the girl once her mind had been made up. The one thing that Sango wanted to know was if she was being coerced in to upping the date. She voiced her question.

"You _chose_ the twenty-first, right?"

Kagome nodded.

"He didn't force you?"

Kagome shook her head.

Sango closed her eyes momentarily before opening them with fake excitement. "Well… let's start planning?"

Kagome's heart broke. She always wanted her wedding and Sango's wedding to be the most exciting events ever, together for both events from start to finish. The situation that she was going through was not what she or Sango expected and both girls (including Kikyo) had to make do with the situation they had.

Kagome could always live her girlish fantasies with Kikyo's upcoming nuptials.

"Inuyasha said that his sister-in-law will call me later today." Kagome's brain was going to implode if she didn't get some fresh air, stat. "If you two don't mind, I'm going to take a walk. My brain can't handle all of this…"

Souta and Sango could only watch as Kagome grabbed a thin sweater and bolted out of the shrine.

"I want to strangle father." Souta muttered and Sango nodded in agreement.

"Poor girl."

 _.xx._

The cool and crisp spring air filled Kagome to the deepest corners of her lungs. Her whole life flashed through her brain, particularly from the moment she found out she would be bound to the Devil, till death do them part.

 _I could run away_.

Kagome shook her head. _No, no… if I were to buy fake I.D.s, I'd have to go through_ his _channel and that would be counterproductive._

Kagome was languidly strolling down the calm streets of her family shrine. She remembered visiting the shrine many times throughout her childhood, always asking her grandfather about the dog demon that was, according to legends, pinned to the sacred tree. Once, Kagome tumbled down a couple dozen steps of the shrine and her mother wouldn't stop crying both on the way to the hospital, and on the way back.

A reluctant smile graced her lips.

 _Those were better times…_

"You really oughta watch where you're walking."

Kagome raised her eyebrow and glanced over her shoulder to find a smirking Kouga and two other expressionless men.

"I knew you three were following me, but aren't you supposed to keep it a secret?"

Kouga wrapped an arm around Kagome's shoulder and began guiding her towards a park just a few blocks away from where they were. "We _were_ , but my buddies here," Kouga nodded at the tall and lanky one, "Ryuukotsusei, and" he ushered to the short and stubby one, "Gama were complaining about how being stealthy in the shadows was unpleasant."

Kagome raised both eyebrows. "And your boss-man knows?"

"Nope."

The grin that Kagome sported was identical to Kouga's wolfish one. "Well that's how I like it."

At that exact moment, Ryuukotsusei and Gama burst into laughter and confessed that they thought she was going to be boorish as that was the type of women Inuyasha seemed to attract. Kagome revealed that she wasn't _attracted_ to him, but he kept running back to her like a child after candy.

That caused Kouga to laugh until tears were streaming down his face.

"I like you." Ryuukotsusei smirked. "Inuyasha needs a woman who can keep him on his toes."

"She's a dancer," Kouga grinned, rather proudly in fact, "we'll get her to get him a pair of ballet shoes and _voila_ , on his toes all day and all night."

Kagome was relieved that some of the men Inuyasha dealt with were pleasant to talk to and not entitled pricks as he was.

"Ballet shoes cost money and I'm afraid he has none."

Gama frowned. "Aren't you aware that—"

Kouga snickered. "Gama, she means that it costs _legal_ money and boss doesn't have any of _that_."

It took Gama (who Kagome thought resembled an overgrown toad) a moment before he began laughing, finding Kagome's little quip to be rather humorous. Kagome, Kouga, and Ryuukotsusei exchanged glances and joined Gama in his laughter. _Done, I've decided I like these three guys_. Kagome made up her mind.

Kouga, Ryuukotsusei and Gama were her new best friends… in Inuyasha's world.

"Has our little Rin called you?" Kouga asked as Kagome settled onto a vacant swing. Gama and Ryuukotsusei began walking the perimeter of the park area and Kouga, wordlessly, started pushing Kagome on the swing.

"No." Kagome revealed. "Can you tell me about this girl? Is she or is she not married to his brother?"

Kouga snickered. "She _isn't_. They're common-law, have a son together, but he doesn't want to put a ring on her for some unknown reason. So that makes _you_ the first Takahashi bride and gave Inuyasha the right to give you the family heirloom ring."

The inscription sprang into Kagome's mind— _Grandfather Muteki_.

"I see…"

"Their family is twisted. You'll find myself and Miroku to be the only normal functioning members in his—"

"In his ring of gangsters." Kagome finished for him. "Is it all that scary?"

Kouga began pushing her higher.

"Yes and no."

"Meaning?"

"Yes because our lives are in constant danger and no because we're the best and nobody can get past us."

Kagome wanted to snort but held her tongue. "Invincible?"

"More or less."

"I see your cockiness mirrors your boss."

"When you work with the best you become the best."

Kagome was ready to clonk Kouga on the head but she didn't know how well that would go with him. "Off of the topic of your oozing awesomeness—"

"I like that!" Kouga remarked. " _Oozing awesomeness_. I'm ordering that on my business cards: COA, Chief of Oozing Awesomeness."

"You have business cards? What, you leave them on the bodies of the executed?"

"I wanted to," Kouga revealed, "but Inuyasha thought that was a terrible idea."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I concur."

"But off the topic of my oozing awesomeness?"

Kagome glanced over her shoulder for a second to see Kouga standing with one hand shoved in his pocket and the other pushing her whenever she swung backwards. "Tell me about _you_."

"What do you want to know, cara mia?"

Kagome coughed but couldn't hide her laughter. It echoed throughout the park. "Cara mia? Really?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"The fact I'm engaged to your boss?"

Kouga made a sound that was a mix between a snort and a cough. "Whatever. Doesn't mean I can't call you _my darling_. You'll be my new kid sister, ergo my _darling_ little sister. Besides, my heart is taken by the Princess of Genevieve."

Kagome's eyebrows shot up. "For true? I was under the impression she liked girls."

Kouga paused and the swing began to lose velocity. Kagome twisted to look over her shoulder and saw that Kouga had the expression of a deer in headlights. Using her heels to stop swinging, Kagome got up and turned to face him completely.

"Kouga?"

"H-how…?"

Kagome stifled her laughter. "Umm… it was on the news? Her parents publically announced the end of her engagement to the Prince of Norway because the Princess had come out of the closet."

"She was engaged to the Prince of Norway?"

 _Poor guy_. "You didn't know?"

"I… I… wow…" Kouga rubbed the back of his head. "She was using me as a beard?"

Kagome shook her head. "Doesn't sound like it if her engagement was publically called off due to her sexual preference. Ulterior motive?"

A dark look flashed in Kouga's eyes but was quickly gone. "Doubt it." His voice was tight. "But wow… learn something new every day, eh?"

The playful undertone was back.

"You don't watch the news?"

"Work for a mob lord." Kouga pointed at himself. "Need I say more?"

"Ahhh…"

"Momma, momma!" A squeaky voice sounded from afar. "I wanna go on swing! I wanna go on swing!"

Kouga grabbed the chain links of the swing that Kagome was sitting on just a moment ago. "That's our cue to leave. Wanna grab dinner? Ryu and Gama are starving… and I can use a steak myself."

"Taking the boss' fiancée out?"

Again, her bodyguard grinned wolfishly. "Comes with the territory. My job is to take care of you and ensuring your belly is full of nutrients falls under _taking care of you_."

Kagome crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "I detest being babied."

"You're marrying a kingpin, cara mia."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Calling me anything _other_ than Kagome."

"Alright, toots."

"Stop!"

"Whatever you say, babykins."

Kagome scowled before rearing her fist and impacting it against a laughing Kouga's arm. "You're a jerk."

"So they say… so are you down to join us for some din-din?"

Kagome rolled her eyes but relented. "Are you sure you're an adult?"

"Honestly?" Kouga wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulder again. "Nope."

As he guided her to his unmarked vehicle, Kagome ensured to tell him that she could not and _would_ not stay out for more than an hour as she really did have work to complete. "Honestly, if I **had** this time, I'd probably spend it planning my wedding with your boss-man."

Kouga could only laugh at what she said. In the background, Ryuukotsusei sent a quick text to Inuyasha.

 _We're with her. Taking her out to eat, I think._

Inuyasha's response came almost instantaneously. _Good. Little birdie told me Naraku is on the prowl. Keep her safe_

Ryuukotsusei punched in his response before going after Kouga and Kagome. Gently, he felt for his gun and relaxed his shoulders.

 _I will. With my life._

 _.xx._

 **Hot updating streak? How long will this one last :(**

 **Fun Fact: Gama is the title of the ugly frog guy from episode 8 (Tsukumo no Gama)... the frog guy that kidnames Tsuyu, Amari Nobunaga's lady.**


End file.
